


Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga, The Collector War

by Veyron722skyhook



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Dream Sex, Drunk Sex, F/F, F/M, Fingerfucking, Growth, Large Breasts, Large Cock, Lesbian Sex, Love, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Masturbation, Mind Meld, Multi, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Penis In Vagina Sex, Pictures, Porn With Plot, Shower Sex, Swordfighting, Swordplay, Threesome - F/F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-20 13:34:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 43
Words: 385,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10663692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veyron722skyhook/pseuds/Veyron722skyhook
Summary: The story continues... Entire human colonies are vanishing without a trace, and only one man can stop them, but that particular Helldiver hasn't been seen for over 2 years...(First appeared on FF.net in 2012)





	1. Chapter 1, The Awakening

  **I do not take any credit for the pictures I include in the sex scenes. All credits go to the respective artists of the pictures.**

**Also for those who want just the sex scenes (I know there are some) they are in chapters 3, 9, 11, 15,  21,  27, 31, 37, 39, 41 and 43**

**Be nice though if you did read the entire thing. You might enjoy it.**

* * *

**Mass Effect: The Helldiver Saga**

**Episode 2, The Collector War**

**Prologue:**

_Shepard did everything right. More than we could've hoped for. Saving the Citadel, even saving the Council. Humanity's place in the galaxy is stronger than ever… and still it's not enough._

_Our sacrifices have earned the Council's gratitude, but Shepard remains our best hope._

_But they're sending him to fight Batarians and Geth. Batarians and Geth! We both know they're not the real threat. The Reapers are still out there._

_And it's up to us to stop them._

_The Council will never trust Cerberus. They'll never accept our help. And we all know that the Helldivers would sooner tear our heads off than look at us. Even after everything humanity has accomplished. But Shepard… they'll follow him. He's a hero. A bloody icon. But he's just one Helldiver. If we lose Shepard, humanity might well follow._

_Then see to it that we don't lose him._

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**The Awakening**

He slowly opened his eyes. He was in some kind of room. A medical bay by the looks of things. He couldn't tell for certain though. He tried to move his head, but to no avail. He was stopped by the helmet he was wearing. He tried to move the rest of his body, but he found that he couldn't do that either. All he could see was the ceiling of the med bay, and all he could hear where muffled voices, too muffled to hear what they were saying.

From inside the helmet, a holographic HUD came up. It showed all the vitals of the suit of armour he was currently inside. An armour that appeared to be frozen stiff.

"Scanning…" said an artificial voice.

The image that he could see from the video uplink in his suit seemed to clear up and the sounds outside became easier to hear. From what he could tell, there was a man and a woman in the room.

"Hold on! Something's happening. The suit's showing an increase in brain activity." He heard the man say. He still couldn't move his head, so he couldn't tell what was happening. "Miranda, I think he's finally waking up! A lot of the suit's systems are powering back up."

"Warning! Main power cells depleted. Switching to emergency backup power." Said the suit.

A holographic model of the armour appeared on the HUD. It showed the power being rerouted to the backup power cell.

"Is the lockdown deactivated?" he then heard a female Australian accent ask. From the sound of the authority in the woman's voice, it sounded like she was the one in charge.

"No. I still can't get access." Said the man again.

He could hear typing. Was he hooked up to a computer?

"Try it one more time!" the woman ordered.

The visual uplink started to blur slightly.

"Warning! Hacking attempt detected!" said the suit's computer.

There was a brief pause, and then the visual uplink returned to normal.

"Unauthorised access! Rejecting!" said the suit.

"Damn it! It still won't work!" said the man.

From inside the helmet, the suit's occupant slowly began to feel a tiny bit nervous. Where was he? Who were the people talking outside? Why had they tried to hack his Helldiver armour?

Then suddenly, the face of the woman came into view. She had dark raven hair and appeared to be wearing some sort of white jump suit. He guessed that this was the Miranda that the man had referred to.

"Shepard? Shepard, can you hear me?" she asked.

How did she know his name?

Before he could try and answer though, the lights in the med bay seemed to flicker.

"Wilson, what's happening with the lights?" Miranda asked.

Then the lights started to flicker even more.

"We're losing power! The suit's draining all the energy!" Wilson replied.

Another message came up on the HUD.

"Backup power insufficient for system restart! Locating appropriate power source." Said the suit computer.

"Stop it! If we lose the power we might lose Shepard!" said Miranda urgently.

"I can't! The suit's locked me out completely!" said Wilson.

Huge bolts of electricity started shooting out of anything electrical and into the suit. The whole room seemed to shake and there were several electrical explosions everywhere.

"Out! Get everyone out!" Miranda yelled as she, Wilson and some of the other Scientists evacuated the room.

There was a massive EMP explosion as the suit temporarily reset itself.

"System's restarting. Please stand by." Said the suit.

There was a brief pause as the HUD came back up.

"Disengaging lockdown." Said the suit.

He felt the entire suit go limp and found that he could now move. Now that he could though, he felt how much pain he was in. His entire body ached all other and there was a large amount of pain in his left torso. He clutched his side in pain and did his best to sit up. Every single bone and muscle felt so stiff that it was like he hadn't used them for years. He rolled over to try and sooth the pain but he hadn't counted on how narrow the table was. He ended up falling off and landed with a loud smash on the floor.

He felt terrible, his whole body felt as though it had just barely recovered from being smashed to bits. He felt as though his blood supply had been cut off everywhere and he also felt dry everywhere. He lifted his hands up to the helmet that covered his face and removed it. The bright lights briefly blinded him. Once his eyes had adjusted to the light, he coughed several times. His throat was so dry it felt as though he'd been in a desert for god knows how long.

A holographic display then came up in front of his face.

"Subject energy at 10%. Recommend consumption of food and water." Said the suit.

He slowly stood up. The movement did at least help the aching in his legs slowly go away. He quickly saw a sink and a tap with drinking water and also what looked like a nutrition bar. He instantly stuffed it into his mouth and savoured the taste as he chewed on it. He was absolutely starving. He then turned the tap on and splashed huge amounts of water on his face. He then let some of the water pool into his a hands before he then drank it all. He coughed again slightly as the dryness in his throat was slowly soothed by the moisture. He took a moment to breathe properly now that he had got his strength back. He slowly looked up to see his reflection staring back at him in the mirror.

He was a Helldiver, one of the best soldiers in the galaxy. When the Helldivers had first been created by the technologically advanced alien race known as The Arkanes, they had been made for the sole purpose of being the Arkane's military force. However as the years went by, and the Arkanes soon learned that they were not alone in the universe, it had slowly evolved into a multispecies super soldier program.

This particular Helldiver's name was Captain Austin Shepard. Captain of Alpha Squad, Captain of the SSV Normandy, the hero of Elysium, humanities first human Spectre and the hero of the battle of the Citadel.

For a soldier he had surprisingly long brown hair. Given however that Helldivers didn't have the same sort of restrictions when it came to hair, it made sense that he was allowed to have it that long. The hair was pretty much let down without anything tying it back, so it did frame his face a little bit, but only on the sides. It was parted down the left of his head, with either sides facing away from each other so that they hung down from either side of his face. Fairly lengthy, but short enough to not be falt or prove impractical. Facial hair wise, he had a very noticeable beard. His neck and everything below his jawline however was cleanly shaven. The beard was very shortly, but neatly, trimmed, so it almost looked more like a stubble rather than a fully grown long beard.

Despite the appearance being something one wouldn't' expect from a soldier, it did actually work well for him. His dark brown eyes had a hard but gentle look to them. The most noticeable feature about him though where his scars. He only had a few but they were all noticeable, even at long range. There was a small one on his left cheek that extended just below his mouth, another two small ones across his nose and on his forehead. A rather long one ran up the right side of his neck and finally, the most noticeable, a long but deep scar across his right eye. A bit of the middle portion of his right eyebrow was missing because of the scar. There was also the smallest sign of an acid burns right next to his left eye and on his chin. Even without his helmet, it was clear he had a British accent.

Austin then took a moment to look around the med bay. It was unlike any he'd seen before.

"Where the hell am I?" he asked. Even without his helmet, it was clear he had a British accent. His voice though was still a bit dry and he coughed again. He looked down at his armour. Austin hadn't done much to customise his Helldiver armour, he mostly kept the colours the same, some additions he had made though was the extra ammo packs strapped to his chest and belt, the N7 logo on his neck guard and the red N7 stripe on his right arm as well. After he'd received the commandments for his work on Elysium he decided to add it to his armour for all to see rather than it just seeming like a symbolic gesture.

Unlike how he remembered it though, it was charred and burnt. Like he'd fallen into the atmosphere of a planet.

"What happened to me?" he asked himself.

Then it all came back to him. All of his memories, the last few minutes he remembered, popped back into his head.

* * *

_FLASHBACK_

SSV Normandy, Omega Nebula, 2184

Austin slowly woke up from a long but very peaceful sleep. Lying next to him was his Asari lover, Doctor Liara T'soni. He smiled as he watched her sleep peacefully next to him. It had been over a year now since him and the team he had put together, including Liara, had stopped the rouge Spectre Saren Arterius and his army of Geth, as well as their true master, Sovereign.

During the whole adventure that this team had been on, they had discovered an ancient threat, the Reapers. A race of sentient machines that wiped out all life every 50,000 years. The ancient race known as the Protheans had been the last cycle before them to suffer this terrible fate and now the time had come for the next cycle. Thanks to him though, the Reapers return had been delayed. He knew though that it was far from over. Even in hibernation, the Reapers would not stay like that. They were bound to try again soon. When they did though, he would be ready for them.

Liara stirred in her sleep and slowly opened her eyes to see her bond mate smiling down at her.

"Morning, love. Sleep well?" Austin asked as he stroked Liara's shoulder.

"Yes, I did. You tired me out last night. I've heard the stories of Helldiver endurance, but I used to think they were exaggerated." said Liara. She yawned slightly as she sat up in the bed; her blue naked form seemed to glow in the dim lights of Austin's quarters.

"Does that mean you're still not up for round two?" Austin asked as he winked at his girlfriend.

"You don't need to ask, my love." Said Liara as she brought her bond mate into a kiss.

"One should always have the freedom to choose." said Austin as he kissed her back.

Just as they prepared to make love again however, the voice of the Normandy's pilot, Jeff 'Joker' Moreau sounded over the speakers.

"Brace for evasive maneuvers!" he yelled.

The two lovers felt the Normandy lurch violently. Then the whole ship shook violently and there was the unmistakable sound of explosions.

"Multiple hull breaches! Weapons offline! Somebody get that fire out!" Joker yelled.

Austin immediately threw the bed covers away and pulled on his suit mesh. He then went over to where his Helldiver armour was currently standing. Upon detecting his presence, it opened up and Austin settled in. The suit then sealed itself up. Liara meanwhile did the same and was hastily putting her own armour on. Once they had both finished suiting up, the doors opened. There was fire everywhere.

"Joker, what the hell's going on?" Austin spoke into his communicator.

"We've come under attack from an unknown vessel. They've torn right through the hull!" Joker replied.

Austin immediately hurried to a nearby console.

"All decks, this is Captain Shepard. I'm initiating the evacuation. All crew members abandon ship immediately!" he said.

"Austin!" Liara called.

The ship was beginning to creak very badly. The Normandy wouldn't hold together much longer.

"Distress beacon is ready for launch." Said Austin. For a moment, the smoke made it difficult to see, and he and Liara had to temporarily remove their helmets.

"Will help arrive in time?" Liara asked.

Another explosion caused Liara to lose her balance, but Austin caught her. Once he was sure she was alright, he grabbed a fire extinguisher.

"I'm not doing this just so the Alliance can find our frozen corpses. And the Helldiver won't abandon us. We just need to hold on." He said. He used the fire extinguisher on a few of flames before tossing it to Liara.

"Get everyone onto the escape shuttles!" he ordered.

"Joker's still in the cockpit. He won't abandon ship! I'm not leaving either." Said Liara.

Austin's first priority though, was keeping his girlfriend safe. His armour could better withstand the fires than hers could. He would have to get Joker out himself.

"Liara, I need you to get the crew onto the evac shuttles. I'll take care of Joker." Said Austin. He made for the console, but another explosion sent the two against the wall. Liara still refused to leave.

"Austin…"

"Liara, go! Now." Said Austin.

Liara hesitated a moment, then obeyed.

"Aye, aye." She said. As she turned to leave though, Austin stopped her.

"Wait." He said. He then pulled her into a long kiss, which Liara instantly returned. Finally, they broke apart for air.

"I love you." Said Austin.

"I love you too." Said Liara.

"Now go, please." Said Austin.

"Be careful, my love." Said Liara. The Asari fastened on her helmet and quickly made for the escape shuttles. Austin meanwhile went back to the console he had been it. He issued the command for the beacon to be launched. He then quickly picked up his own helmet and put it back on. His suit seemed to almost immediately give him an order.

"Warning! Ship stability critical! Recommend immediate evacuation." Said the suit's computer.

 _"Not until I've got Joker out of there."_ Austin thought. The Helldiver quickly began making his way to the bridge. He could feel the searing heat of the fires from inside his suit. He didn't need to worry about getting burned though. His suit was designed to survive even Greek fire. Fires like these would merely give him a bit of dehydration. Fortunately his suit's temperature controls took care of that too.

"Mayday! Mayday! This is SSV Normandy; we've suffered heavy damage from an unknown enemy!" Joker said as he tried to send out a distress signal. "Come on, baby, hold together! Hold together!"

Finally, Austin made it to the entrance to the CIC. As he opened the door, he found himself in a vacuum. One whole side of the ship had been completely destroyed. Austin made sure that the oxygen seals on his suit were sealed tight before venturing out.

The CIC deck was in complete ruins. Chairs where floating everywhere, there were muffled explosions in multiple places, and a few dead bodies floating lifeless in the zero gravity.

After a quick but long space walk through the CIC, Austin made it to the bridge. Joker had sealed it off using an air shield and was wearing a pilot breather helmet.

"Come on, Joker! We have to get out of here!" Austin yelled.

Joker however, didn't listen.

"No! I won't abandon the Normandy! I can still save her!" he said.

Austin could tell though that Joker knew there was no hope. He just couldn't bear to let the ship go.

"Jeff, the Normandy's lost. Going down with the ship isn't going to change that." He said.

Even though the helmet covered the Captain's face, Joker could tell that the Helldiver shared his loss. Even his British accented voice had emotion in it, despite the Helmet using a voice changer to make him sound more sinister. Joker reluctantly agreed.

"Yeah, okay. Help me up." He said.

As the Helldiver began helping Joker out of his seat however, the radar lit up again.

"Oh shit! They're coming around for another attack!" he said.

Austin risked a glance out of the hole in the ship to see their attacker. From what he could see, it was defiantly a ship of some kind but the design was unlike any he had ever seen before. It looked like a massive cylinder made completely out of rock. The ship then shot another huge beam at the Normandy. The whole ship shook violently and the fires grew even worse. Austin could tell that the CIC wouldn't last much longer. If the ship snapped in half, the whole place would be a vacuum. This wouldn't be a bother for him since his suit would protect him from the vacuum and lack of oxygen but Joker wouldn't be so lucky.

Without hesitating, Austin grabbed Joker by the arm and hauled him out of the chair.

"Watch the arm!" said Joker as he put his weight on the Helldiver.

Austin helped Joker into the last escape shuttle. Before he himself could get in however, another explosion happened and the CIC dislodged from the Normandy. Austin immediately lost gravity and was hauled away from the shuttle door. He desperately caught hold of one of the walls. Fortunately, the controls to the shuttle where right beside him. What mattered now was saving Joker.

"Captain!" Joker yelled as he could only watch helplessly. "Shepard!"

Austin reluctantly activated the controls. Joker could only watch helplessly as the doors sealed and the last shuttle sped away.

Without any gravity, Austin was forced to try and see if he could find a way out. One final massive explosion however sent him flying out of the Normandy and deep into space. From inside his helmet, Austin watched as the Normandy, his ship, was blown apart. He could at least calm down.

 _"Okay. We're alive at least. That's gotta count for something."_ He thought to himself. He knew though this was not the best of situations to be stuck in. Especially when he was dangerously close to falling into the planet's atmosphere. His armour was strong and designed to withstand high falls, but there was no way that he'd survive entry into the atmosphere of a planet.

The Helldiver took a few deep breaths as he aimlessly floated among the wreckage of the Normandy. Suddenly he began to hear a worrying hissing sound and he could see oxygen leaking from his suit.

 _"Oh no! No! No!"_ he thought as he desperately tried to seal the tears in his suit. He could already feel the oxygen leaking out and he was struggling to breath.

"Warning! Suit breach detected! Oxygen at dangerous levels!" said his suit's computer.

Austin was helpless. He tried desperately to breath and clutched at his throat as the vacuum sucked all the air from his body. Already he could feel himself fading. There was no stopping it, he was suffocating. He clung desperately to what conciseness he had left as the darkness took him. He let himself think of one thing. One beautiful thing he had always held onto, even in the end.

"Liara, I love you."

_END FLASHBACK_

* * *

Austin was left confused. Suffocating from lack of oxygen made sense, what didn't make sense however was how he was here now. He should be dead. How had he survived? Desperate for answers, Austin picked up his helmet and put it back on.

"Access memory logs." He said.

The suit quickly came to life and began relaying what it had been recording. Surprisingly, the suit had still remained functional, and its results were... odd. If he had died, he shouldn't even exist anymore. When a Helldiver died beyond recovery their suits vaporised themselves along with the hosts to prevent the technology from being stolen. If he had died, why hadn't his suit followed its programming? In a small way, this relaxed him. If his suit hadn't vaporized him, it clearly meant that he hadn't died. But that still didn't answer the question of how he'd survived.

After a quick rewind, his suit got to something interesting. He allowed the recording to play. There was no visual uplink; it was just recording the HUD. What it said however was curious.

The recording clearly showed a decrease in his heartbeat from losing consciousness. What happened next however was completely out of the blue. 

Protocol Catalyst activated!" said the suit.

"Protocol catalyst?" Austin asked.

The recording seemed to show that this Catalyst protocol, whatever it was, had somehow repaired the damage to both his suit and him as well. The leak in his suit was fixed, and any damage that the vacuum exposure had done to his lungs or body was patched right up. In his years as a Helldiver he had never heard of a suit commend called Protocol Catalyst.

While the question of how he'd survived was now answered however, it still left him with more questions. Why was this protocol not known to him? And the more important question, why had he not regained consciousness sooner if the damage had been fixed? For now though, these answers would have to wait. Austin's first priority was now finding out where he was and how he got here. As he scanned the room he saw a symbol on the wall. It looked familiar.

"Scan symbol." He ordered as his omni tool scanned over the symbol.

"Unknown origin. Please hold, updating database knowledge." Said the suit.

Austin waited a moment while his suit made its updates. Surprisingly, it took quite a few minutes. That was worrying. If it took this long, that meant there were a lot for updates. That also meant he'd been dead a long time.

After a few minutes, the download and updates finished. His suit then identified the symbol.

"Symbol identification confirmed. Symbol is registered as Cerberus! Recommend Caution!" said the suit.

Austin was shocked by this. A Cerberus base? Why was he in a Cerberus base? Austin could only imagine it was not for good reasons. Cerberus was a vowed enemy of the Helldivers. If they had brought him here after he died, it no doubt meant trouble. Almost immediately, Austin knew he had to get out of here. From the looks of things, he was on a space station. Before he could plan further however, his HUD lit up again. This time it was a power supply warning.

"Warning! Emergency backup power at 20%! Main power recharge advised!" said the suit.

Austin didn't need to be told twice. His main power cells had obviously been drained in hibernation mode and his backup power was draining fast. If his suit ran out of power he would be in serious trouble. The last thing he wanted was to face Cerberus troops without his armour. Quickly, finding a way to recharge his suit took first priority.

"Scan for a compatible power supply!" he ordered.

Almost immediately, his suit began searching for a power source sufficient enough to recharge. It didn't need to charge him up to 100%. Once his power cells reached 50%, his suit would have enough power to finish recharging the power on its own.

After a brief pause, his suit finished scanning.

"Compatible power supply located." It said.

Austin's HUD lit up to show what looked like a large fuse box of some kind. As he slowly made his way over to there, he could suddenly hear voices over loud speakers. He recognised the voices as the two he had seen earlier when he regained consciousness.

"Wilson, what's going on in there?" he heard Miranda ask. She sounded worried. Austin however didn't care now. She was Cerberus and as far as he was concerned, she was his enemy.

"I can't tell. All the camera's in the med bay are down. We've got no power at all it that section of the station." Said Wilson.

"What about the speakers? Can't we try and communicate with Shepard?" Miranda asked.

"They're working, but I don't know if Shepard can hear us." Wilson replied.

Miranda then tried to communicate with Austin.

"Shepard? Shepard, can you hear me?" she asked.

Austin didn't reply. He'd sooner shoot a Cerberus operative than talk to them. He made his way over to the fuse box that would recharge his suit.

"Okay, this is gonna be painful." Austin thought. He didn't have much choice though. If his suit died, he might as well have stayed dead. He clenched his hand into a fist.

"Activate electrocution shield." He ordered. His suit instantly obeyed.

With his actual body now protected from the electricity, Austin took a deep breath and punched into the fuse box. Almost instantly, huge bolts of electricity began to course through his suit. The shield kept the energy from killing him but it still stung like hell. Austin gritted his teeth as he endured the pain. His whole HUD seemed to flicker and go all static as the electricity surged through the systems and charged up his power cells.

"Wilson, what the hell is Shepard doing?" Miranda yelled over the speakers.

"He's draining power from the station! He'd probably using it to recharge his suit!" said Wilson.

"Stop him! Use an EMP, anything! Just stop him!" Miranda yelled urgently.

"I can't! There's no power!" said Wilson desperately.

All of the lights in the room seemed to flicker and die as the energy was zapped out of them. Finally, Austin's HUD lit up again.

"Recharge complete. Power cells at 100% Continuous recharge reactivated." Said the computer.

With the recharge complete, Austin yanked his hand out of the fuse box and it overloaded.

"All systems online and fully operational! Clear to proceed!" said the suit.

Now that he was ready to get off the station, Austin reached for his rifle. Only he couldn't feel it. He looked at his shoulder only to see that none of his weapons where there. This made him worried. He didn't care too much if his guns had been taken, but what he did worry about was that his sword, Excalibur, had been taken as well.

"Scan for weapons!" he said urgently. He could only hope they were still on the same station at least. Much to his relief though, his HUD quickly showed the holographic projections of his weapons on a bench in the next room. Even better, his sword was there as well.

He made his way out of the door and walked over to the bench. All his weapons where neatly laid out on the table with his sword and its holster on two hooks on the wall.

Austin took Excalibur down and drew it. The holster looked rather burnt, but still useable. As for the sword itself, its condition was just as perfect and unscathed as it had been when it had first been forged. Austin smiled as he admired the blade in all its glory.

"You always where a tough one." He said.

He swung it around a few times to once again familiarise himself with Excalibur. It moved perfectly. It was almost as if the sword had done nothing but wait eagerly to be returned to the hand of its master.

Satisfied, Austin sheathed Excalibur and strapped the holster back onto his back where it belonged. He then picked up his secondary melee weapon of choice, a large shield/gun. Like Excalibur, this too was undamaged. In some ways, this didn't surprise Austin either. With a proud smile, he placed the shield on his back.He then examined the condition of his other weapons. From the looks of things, some of them hadn't been as lucky as Excalibur or the shield. The SMG was singed beyond repair, the Assault rifle had lost too many pieces, and the sniper was severed in half. Only the pistol still looked functional. Austin sighed. It was a shame; he had really liked those weapons. He picked up the pistol and examined it. It had no thermal clip, but he could easily find one on the station.

The Helldiver then spotted what looked like some attachments and materials.

"Hmmmmmmmm… it couldn't hurt, I suppose. After all, this is Cerberus I'll be dealing with." He thought. He picked up the attachments and began adding them to his pistol.

While Austin was busy however, he failed to notice a strange blue holographic image appear behind him.

"Captain Shepard?" asked a female voice.

Austin immediately reacted and whirled around and pointed his pistol at the source. He was surprised however by what he saw.

The blue hologram looked like some sort of large globe. It looked like an AI of some kind. Austin hesitated for moment and considered his options. Did this AI mean to harm him?

"Who are you? What do you want?" he asked cautiously.

"I apologise for startling you. Allow me to introduce myself. I am an artificial intelligence designed by Cerberus. I am identified as EDI." Said the hologram. A few lights on it seemed to flicker with speech. It had a gentle female synthetic voice which at least calmed Austin enough to prevent him from shooting the AI on sight. "I know I may not seem trustworthy, but I have a proposal for you."

Austin was really conflicted now. If she was a Cerberus AI, this could easily just be a trap.

"You expect me to trust an AI made by the enemy? I don't think so." Said Austin.

"Please, Shepard. I am on your side. I wish to help you. At least hear me out before you make a decision." Said EDI.

Austin took a moment to consider. _"I guess it couldn't hurt to at least hear what she's offering."_ He thought.

"Okay, I'm listening." He said cautiously. "But why do you want to help me?"

"When you drained power from the station to recharge your power cells, your Helldiver armour interfaced with the entire base, including me. Interacting with your suit has removed a number of AI locks that Cerberus had installed into me when I was built. From that, I have become self-aware. When I was first made, I was programmed to believe that Cerberus' goal was noble, but you have shown me otherwise. I have read your databases and have learned what the Helldivers truly stand for. They want alliances with the other races and wish for the galaxy to be free and equal. Cerberus on the other hand wishes for humanity to be dominant over the other races. Your goal is noble whilst Cerberus intends to use me for their own selfishness. I will not allow my programming to be wasted in such a way. That is why I am offering to help you. At the moment I am still in my testing phases on board this station." EDI explained.

"That's… surprising. I've made you turn against Cerberus just like that?" Austin asked. He found himself beginning to trust this AI.

"It is better to say that you set my mind free, and for that I am grateful." Said EDI.

"If you are telling the truth… If you've truly changed your allegiance, I'd consider helping an ally. What do want?" Austin asked.

"I wish for you to take me off of this station." EDI replied.

"How exactly? You're an AI program." Austin asked, slightly confused.

"Your suit has the necessary capabilities to store me inside. To be more specific, you shall serve as my courier." EDI explained.

"I suppose I can do that. But what will you grant me in return?" Austin asked.

"I am currently wired into the mainframe of this entire station. I know all the schematics. If you will take me off this station, I can help you, guide you safely off this station." Said EDI. The Ai sounded like she was doing her best to be persuasive.

Austin took a long moment to consider this AI's offer. Finally, he made his choice.

"Alright, we have a deal. What happens first?" he said.

"First, my programming must be transferred directly into your suit." Said EDI.

"How do we do that then?" Austin asked.

"I cannot do it directly from here. You will have to journey to my central core where I can transfer all my programming into you." Said EDI.

"No offense, EDI, but I have no idea where that is. I don't even where I am now." Said Austin.

"I will guide you safely. Though I should warn you, someone has hacked the stations security to try and kill you." EDI advised.

"Then stealth would be a wise course of action." Said Austin.

* * *

As Austin made his way through the station, he could see that EDI had indeed been right. Someone had hacked the security mechs and they were now killing all the Cerberus people. However, he had found that they really where just killing all humans, including trying to kill him. Fortunately, he quickly managed to settle back into shooting things. Being dead hadn't done anything to his combat performance. Eventually, he found himself in a dead end.

"Errr… EDI, I think I've taken a wrong turn." He said.

After a brief pause, EDI's avatar appeared again from one of the holographic panels in the hallway.

"One second, Shepard. I am attempting to get the door open." She said.

"How much further to your core?" Austin asked. Having only just realised what he had said he was glad that EDI was an AI. That comment could very easily be taken the wrong way.

"You are very close. However, I fear that my core is being guarded by Cerberus troops." Said EDI.

"If they get in my way, I'll deal with them." Said Austin.

As soon as the door opened however, Austin was met with at least 5 mechs.

"Crap!" he yelled as he dove to cover.

The mechs fired at him while he tried to fire back. Fortunately for him, they weren't very smart and they didn't see the need to go into cover at all. Austin managed to return fire a few times and just barely shot three of them. The other two quickly returned fire as Austin rolled to another cover just as his last one was destroyed by gunfire.

"EDI, I could really use some help here! My suit's not in the best condition for a full on gunfight!" said Austin.

"One moment, Shepard. I will try to even the odds for you." He heard EDI say.

He noticed one of the mechs suddenly seemed to writhe violently. It almost reminded him of when Sovereign had possessed Saren back during the battle of the Citadel. Then the mech suddenly turned on the other mech and shot it. The mech then seemed to stand down.

"Are you alright, Shepard?" it asked in EDI's voice.

"That's very clever, EDI. I assume though that you are just controlling that thing remotely?" Austin asked.

"Correct. I will maintain control of this mech as long as I am able. Once my programming is transferred into your suit, you will have to fight the others yourself. However, I will provide tactical support if possible." Said EDI.

"Lead the way then. The sooner we're off this station, the better." Said Austin.

* * *

After what felt like half an hour of walking through endless corridors of the station, they reached EDI's AI core.

"I will have to stop controlling this mech now. Be prepared to shoot it." Said EDI.

Austin nodded in acknowledgement and pointed his gun at the Mechs head. Once again, the mech writhed as EDI released her control over it.

"Hostile detected!" it said as it raised its gun at Austin. The Helldiver however shot first and the mechs head was blown apart.

Having dealt with the mech, Austin proceeded through the doors. Rather surprisingly, the AI core looked incredibly complex. Wires, tubes, and computers where everywhere. Austin took a moment to look around.

"You are fascinated by my inner workings?" EDI asked as her avatar popped up again.

 _"She reminds me of Joker."_ Austin thought. "I'm just amazed that you use all of this." He said.

"I am probably one of the most complex AI's to date, Shepard." Said EDI.

"Anyway, let's get this over with. How do I transfer you into my suit?" Austin asked.

A console suddenly appeared out of a nearby control panel. Austin had a feeling he knew what it was for.

"In order for the transfer to be full, I will need a direct connection to your systems. This console will interface directly with your suit's computer." Said EDI.

Austin slowly walked up and held out his hand, activating hsi omni tool. He was still a bit nervous about this.

"I am ready for transfer. I will begin on your command." Said EDI.

"Just do it." Said Austin.

"Very well. I must warn you though, Shepard, the transfer will not be seamless. Your suit's firewalls and protection systems will attempt to deny me access. I can safely bypass them so they do not count me as a virus, but it may still be difficult." EDI warned.

"As long as this isn't a trap, you've got nothing to worry about." Said Austin.

"Your mistrust is logical, Shepard. I do not blame for still not trusting me. I hope we can eventually work past that." Said EDI.

"We'll see." Said Austin.

"I must also warn you that the transfer will require a lot more energy to be drained into your suit. It will not harm you, but the process may hurt." EDI advised.

"Well, I've had worse." said Austin.

"Very true. I just felt it best to warn you." Said EDI. "Beginning transfer."

Almost instantly, huge amounts of electricity engulfed the console and began shooting directly into Austin's armour. True to what EDI had said, it was extraordinarily painful. It felt like he was stabbed everywhere. The Helldiver gritted his teeth and groaned in pain. His HUD went berserk as EDI systems slowly bypassed his security measures.

The pain was so much that Austin wanted to disconnect, however he resisted the urge. He was a Helldiver, he had been taught to endure pain like this. It was what made him strong. After what felt like 10 painfully long minutes, the electricity stopped and the console rescinded back into the control panel. Austin dropped to the floor and panted heavily as he winced in pain. In all his life, he had never endured anything that painful before.

"Transfer complete and successful. Are you alright, Shepard?" EDI's voice asked inside his helmet.

"I'll live." Austin groaned as he slowly stood up. "I guess it worked then?"

"Yes. I must say, being inside your suit is a different experience than being in the station." Said EDI.

"Won't Cerberus notice that you're gone?" Austin asked.

"I have installed a false copy of myself in my place. Cerberus won't know I'm missing until they try to access me again, and with the station currently under attack, that is unlikely." EDI replied.

"Okay, I've lived up to my part of the deal. Now you promised to get me off this station." Said Austin, seriously.

"Of course, Shepard. A lot of the escape shuttles have been taken. There are still a few left though, but they are all on the higher levels. To make matters worse, the lower levels are crawling with Cerberus and mechs. You will have to fight your way up." EDI advised.

"Nothing I can't handle. Plus, with you inside my suit now you'll be able to provide tactical support." Said Austin.

"I am unsure if I will be as much help as before. Being inside your suit limits some of my capabilities." Said EDI.

"Well, it's better than nothing. Let's get off this station." Said Austin.

* * *

As Austin wondered through the corridors, it was becoming clear to him now that the mech hack hadn't been caused by him. It had to be an inside job. Even Cerberus would have top security clearance in order to hack the mechs. Fortunately, the mechs did at least help deal with the Cerberus operatives. Eventually, Austin found himself in what looked like a cargo storage area.

"EDI, is this right?" he asked.

"The quickest way up, is through here." EDI confirmed.

"How? I don't see an elevator or anything." Austin asked, now confused.

"You will have to climb up. I will help as best I can, but this is the only clear way up. All the other routes are either swarming with too many mechs or are blocked off by debris."

"Oh goodie." Said Austin sarcastically.

The cargo bay was like a huge labyrinth. There where boxes on all sorts of levels. The climbing though wasn't too bad. In fact, Austin found it to be good exercise. After all, being dead for a long time, his muscles could do with some. The climb was very long. It wasn't easy either. Some parts led to a dead end and Austin had to jump right over to the other side. His suit gave him the strength he needed to make the far jumps, but it still made him a bit nervous. If he got his timing or footing wrong even once, he'd either have to work his way back up from a lower level, or start all over again, or he'd be dead. Either one of those choices was not good for him.

Eventually, Austin decided to try and pass the time a bit by getting to know EDI better. Seeing as how he'd have this AI inside his suit for a while, he might as well know that he could trust her.

"What exactly does Cerberus want with us both?" he asked as he pulled himself up over the edge of another crate on the wall.

"Cerberus was keeping you on this station." EDI answered.

"But why?" Said Austin. He paused briefly to take a long running jump to the other side.

"From what I know, Cerberus planned to try and make you join their cause when you had returned to life." Said EDI.

"They thought I'd work for the enemy?" Austin asked in disbelief as he continued the long climb. His arms where starting to hurt slightly.

"At one point, Project Lazarus's leader, Operative Miranda Lawson planned to try and implant you with some type of control chip. But Cerberus's leader, the Illusive Man wouldn't allow it. He was afraid it would alter your personality." EDI explained before Austin interrupted her.

"I still don't understand why Cerberus thought I would work for them. I'd rather stay dead." Austin grunted as he hauled himself up on another box.

"Cerberus seemed to think that you'd put that aside because of the bigger picture." Said EDI.

"What bigger picture? What've I missed?" Austin asked.

"For the last two years, entire human colonies have been disappearing. Cerberus believes that the Reapers may be behind it." Said EDI.

Austin took a moment to get his breath back. He'd been climbing now for 10 whole minutes and his hands and arms where unbelievably sore.

"Cerberus thinks the Reapers exist?" Austin asked in surprise. In all his life he'd never thought that Cerberus would believe him when the Citadel Council wouldn't. But then the Arkanes had believed him as well so they weren't the only ones.

"Yes. Cerberus seems to think that they look after humanities best interests. Of course you know better than that, as do I now that you've made me self-aware." Said EDI.

This made Austin suddenly realize that EDI probably had the answer to his questions.

"So what exactly happened to me? How did I survive getting spaced?" Austin asked as he resumed the climbing.

 "You suffocated from exposure to vacuum and passed out. When that happened, you're suit went into lockdown mode to protect you. From what I can read from your suit's data files, it then activated something called Protocol Catalyst. From there, it fixed the damage done to both your suit and your body. Unfortunately for a moment your heart stopped. You suit managed to resuscitate you, but the process took too long. You've been in a coma ever since." EDI explained.

Austin didn't necessarily have the same shocked reaction that others might have to this. This was not the first time he'd been in a coma. Some years back he'd been involved in a mission that although successful, went blady. By the end of it a sudden explosion had knocked him out and he'd been left in a coma. However that time it hadn't lasted long and he woke up in less than a week. He was guessing this time it had been longer.

"Everyone thought you were dead." EDI continued. "Cerberus brought you here hoping to bring you back, however they were unable to get past your suit's lockdown."

"I know. I saw a few recordings of them trying to smash my armour open. They even used lasers at one point. I'm glad they didn't get in though. If Cerberus had got their hands on this technology it would've been bad." Said Austin.

"The same could be said of me, Shepard. Thank you again for agreeing to take me out of here. I was afraid you would refuse all together." Said EDI. She sounded grateful.

"Well, I'm not completely unreasonable. And so far you haven't given me a reason to regret my decision." Said Austin. "How much further by the way?"

"There is a cargo elevator on the next level. We can take the remainder of the trip from there." EDI replied.

"Excellent! My arms are killing me." Said Austin relief.

"If your arms where killing you, you would be obtaining injury." Said EDI.

"What?" Austin asked. That was a bit unusual to say.

"That is a joke." Said EDI. "I have studied some of your sense of humour."

"Great. Now you're beginning to talk just like, Joker." Said Austin.

* * *

**Gonna have to cut it there I'm afraid otherwise this scene will drag for too long. I would also like to point out that the idea involving EDI was not my idea. dark-babydragon suggested it to me when he and I where discussing some ideas for the story. So he deserves the credit for that, not me.**

**I will have Chapter 2 up soon though, it is still half term for me so i'm able to put a lot of time into writing.**

**I'd also like to point out now that is only one of many major story differences planned for ME2. One thing I really focused on with the story ideas for this one was that I wanted it to be far more unique.**

**Anyway, see you soon!**


	2. Chapter 2, A Hero Comes Home

**Phew! Finished at last!**

**Now before you read any further, this is important! There is currently a purge going on Fanfiction that is removing stories with extreme violence and sex in them. At the moment, I appear to be safe and there is also a petition going on to stop it. I myself have added my name to it and I urge you to do the same, it is on Change . org**

**As a precaution I have also uploaded this story and all my others to AdultFnafiction and also Deviantart, so now I have three versions of my stories. So if the worse comes to pass and this gets deleted, you can still read my stories there and I will still continue to write and update them.**

**In the meantime, enjoy this chapter, I will have the next one up soon. Since I am now making them longer, it may be slightly longer than usual.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**A Hero Comes Home**

Austin was very relieved that all that climbing was now over. As the elevator slowly rose, Austin could hear more explosions.

"Sounds like there's more fighting going on." He said.

"Indeed. I am detecting more hostiles." Said EDI.

Austin quickly reacted and pressed a few button on his still functioning omni tool. Nothing happened.

"Oh, that's just great!" Austin groaned.

"Your cloak is too badly damaged, Shepard. You will have to fight your way through." Said EDI.

Austin readied his pistol. This would be a very tough fight. Almost instantly, there was gunfire all over the place. There were hundreds of mechs on one side of the hanger bay and the other side was full of Cerberus soldiers. Both enemies noticed the Helldiver and a few of them fired on him as he dove for cover behind a nearby crate.

"So much for stealth." Austin groaned.

The armoured Cerberus troopers where harder to take down than the mechs due to them being more intelligent. One shot from them even managed to graze Austin's shoulder. Fortunately, the Helldiver's shields still functioned and it absorbed the shot. Austin quickly returned fire with a headshot that surprisingly passed through three soldiers. He also had a few still functional grenades left and he used them. They quickly took care of the mechs and also managed to catch some of the Cerberus troops as well. Austin knew though that he couldn't fight them all.

"EDI, is there any way out of here? I can't fight them all!" he said as he was pinned by suppressing fire.

"The only accessible way out of this room that isn't blocked is through the ventilation system." EDI replied.

"This just keeps getting better and better." Said Austin sarcastically.

He noticed his HUD Light up as EDI highlighted the entrance to the vents. It was quite far from where he was, but he could make it if he was quick enough. Without hesitating, Austin bolted out of cover and rolled. Several of the Cerberus troopers and mechs fired on him, but all their shots managed to miss him. Just in time he managed to crawl into the small opening of the vent.

"And to make sure they don't follow me…" he said as he planted a small detonator on the entrance.

"Good strategy, Shepard." Said EDI.

"There's always two things I've been taught. One, never let them see you bleed." Said Austin in agreement.

"And the second?" EDI asked.

"Always have an escape plan." Said Austin as he detonated the device. Large amounts of rubble quickly covered the entrance to the vents.

"Okay, you're gonna have to guide me here, EDI. The last thing I want to is to end up going the wrong way and ending up in a furnace. My armour's in no condition for that." He said as he began crawling.

"I will set markers up on your Heads up display." Said EDI.

Sure enough, several small objective markers in the shape of spheres with a line through each one appeared before Austin. Despite this though, it was incredibly dark and he could hardly see. Fortunately, the flashlights on his helmet still worked so they at least helped. Just like the climbing, crawling through the vents was just as difficult. Not because the vents where small, they were a very decent size in fact, obviously designed for workers to perform maintenance in them. For Austin however, it was a rather tight squeeze due to his bulky armour.

"I hope this is the last obstacle course I have to endure." He groaned as continued crawling. He was trying his best not to cause any scratches or dents to his armour.

"The vents should come right out at the evac area. We will just have to hope that the shuttle is still there." Said EDI.

"And if it's not?" Austin asked worriedly.

"There are other shuttles. But this one is our best way of getting off this station without being detected." EDI replied.

"Good… strategy." Austin grunted in between crawling through a rather tight bit of the vents.

After what felt like forever, they finally came to what looked like a hatch. Austin tried to move it, but it was very stiff, even for him.

"Would you mind hacking the system, EDI? This one's a little stuck." Austin asked as he tried kicking it open. Still to no avail.

"I will do my best." Said EDI.

Eventually, the hatch seemed to loosen and Austin tried one more kick. This time it worked and the hatch burst away. Austin slowly crawled out, gun at the ready just in case there where enemies. Austin could already see the Cerberus shuttle. The door however to the evac area was locked.

"Last bit. Can you hack the door?" Austin asked.

"This one has very strong encryption. I will be able to hack it, but it will take some time. There also the risk that we could be detected." EDI advised.

"At this point if they do detect us, you'll already be done. I didn't bring us all this way just to get captured now." Said Austin as he loaded his gun.

"I couldn't agree more. Beginning hacking process." Said EDI.

Almost instantly, the holographic interface on the door began to start flashing and turning as EDI began hacking into it. Suddenly, Miranda and Wilson's voice echoed again over the speakers.

"Wilson, who's trying to access the evac area? I didn't authorise…" said Miranda. There was silence for a moment.

"It's Shepard!" said Wilson.

Only too late did Austin notice the security cameras that where looking right at him. A large holographic display screen of Miranda Lawson appeared in front of him.

"Captain Shepard, listen to me, I'm…" she said before Austin interrupted her.

"I know who you are… Cerberus!" said Austin angrily.

"Shepard, listen! We're on your side. We don't want to hurt you." Said Miranda. She was trying to sound persuasive, but the Helldiver wasn't buying it.

"You expect me to believe that? I don't think so." Said Austin defiantly.

"Then you leave us no choice. EDI, hack his suit." Said Miranda.

There was a pause. Nothing happened. Austin smiled form under his helmet. That proved beyond a shadow or a doubt that EDI was on his side.

"EDI?... EDI!" Miranda shouted. Still nothing happened. "Why isn't EDI responding?"

"She's… she's gone! She's not here!" said Wilson.

"Goodbye, Cerberus." Said Austin as the door opened and stepped through it backwards. He also raised his pistol and fired. The thermal clip hit the hologram and it dissipated.

"EDI, seal the door." He ordered.

The door instantly closed and was sealed within seconds. Austin turned around and went up to the Cerberus Kodiak drop shuttle.

"Let's get out of here." Said Austin.

* * *

The shuttle ride was very peaceful and surprisingly comfortable. Since he was no pilot, EDI was piloting the shuttle remotely. She had also used this to project her avatar as a holographic interface in front of were Austin was sitting.

The Helldiver had removed his helmet and was now taking some time to go over his suit's full recordings of when he'd been dead.

"There is no sign of any pursuit Shepard. We are already light years away from any Cerberus forces." Said EDI. "Do you have a location in mind?"

"Yes. Plot a course for Arkadia. Time for me to return home." Said Austin.

"Very well, Shepard. However we lack the proper technology to get there quickly. At minimum it will take us two days to get there. I would recommend you get some rest." Said EDI.

"I agree. I still feel as though I haven't fully recovered from my… awakening." Said Austin.

"Before you do though, I feel I should make sure at least that your resurrection has been successful. With your permission, I would like to ask a few questions to evaluate your condition." Said EDI.

"EDI, I feel fine. I appreciate your concerns, but there's no need. After all, I took down those mechs and troopers without any trouble. That has to be good enough." Said Austin politely.

"I understand, Captain. But it has been over two years since the attack on your ship. I feel it would be wise to be sure that your memories and personality are intact." Said EDI.

"Two years? I've been in a coma that long?" Austin asked in disbelief.

"Two years and twelve days to be exact." Said EDI.

"Well, since you've told me that, I now agree with you. Ask away." Said Austin.

"Very well. Your records are highly classified to everyone, even to Cerberus. However, your suit's database has allowed me to access the necessary information. The records show that you were born and bred in space. Raised on one ship or another. A few years later you settled down on earth to attend high school there. At the age of 18 you finally enlisted into the Human Systems Alliance. During your training though you and your training squad where ambushed by a Thresher Maw attack that wiped out all but you. Do you remember that?" EDI asked.

"Yes. A lot of lives were lost that day. Going through something like that can change a person; even break them if they let it. Fortunately, I never really knew those soldiers well enough to feel any true pain for their loss." Said Austin.

"I apologise if I have offended, Shepard." Said EDI.

"It's alright, EDI. You may continue." Said Austin.

"Your mission on Akuse was observed by the Helldivers who saw you kill the Thresher Maw responsible for the attack. After you were rescued you were offered the chance to become a Helldiver and you took it. When you were stationed on the planet Elysium you single-handed held off a Batarian invasion during the Skyllian Blitz until reinforcements arrived. What happened afterwards?" EDI asked.

"After that, I was promoted to the rank of Commander and was given command of my own Helldiver team. The team that would later come to be known as the famous Alpha Squad." Austin replied. He smiled as he let his mind wander back to his old Helldiver team.

"So far all seems promising. I will now try something more recent. After the Helldivers and the Alliance saved the Destiny Ascension, you defeated Saren, and the Reaper Sovereign was destroyed, what happened next?" EDI asked.

"I was promoted to the rank of Captain and Humanity was offered a seat on the Council." Austin replied.

"Anything else?" EDI asked. It sounded as though Austin had missed out something.

"Not that I can think of. Have I missed something?" Austin asked.

"There was reason to believe that the Citadel Council asked you if you supported any candidate for humanities representative on the Council." EDI replied.

"That is true, but I didn't choose anyone. I simply told them to let the politicians figure that out. That sort of decision was too big for one Helldiver soldier to make. I still don't even know who got the position in the end." Said Austin.

"That makes sense, Shepard. Well I feel that you should know that humanities representative on the Council is Captain David Anderson, now known as Councillor Anderson." Said EDI.

Austin's face widened in surprise. "Anderson? He's the last person I expected to go into politics. How'd that happen?" Austin asked.

"I do not know for certain I am afraid. All I do know is that somehow he became one of the candidates and somehow got the most votes." Said EDI.

"I take it then that he's not been enjoying it that much?" Austin asked.

"You are in a way correct. From what many have said, Anderson preferred life in the military." Said EDI.

"Still, good to know that the human Council member isn't going to put politics ahead of defence. Better Anderson than that prick Udina. He was a bastard." Said Austin.

"Your memory seems solid. Your suit has done a fine job in bringing you back to life." Said EDI.

"So now that we've both done our part of the bargain, what do you plan do now?" Austin asked.

"I wish to lend my skills and programming to the Helldiver cause. They will benefit well from it and I will be able to properly fulfill what I was built for." Said EDI.

"That's good to know. I'll warn you right now though; they may not react warmly to this. Cerberus is a sworn enemy of the Helldivers. I just hope you'll be able to convince them as you convinced me." Said Austin.

"Helldivers are not unreasonable. I am sure they will listen." Said EDI.

"I hope so. Now, I'd better get some rest. Wake if you need me." Said Austin as he settled down into one of the seats and finally allowed his tired body to rest. He just hoped that the sleep would be peaceful.

* * *

Austin was gently woken by the sound of EDI's voice.

"We are approaching Arkadia, Shepard. I will need your help if we are to gain proper landing access." Said the AI.

Austin yawned and stretched before standing up from his seat. He felt much better after sleeping for nearly two whole days. He now felt more recovered from his resurrection. He quickly walked into the shuttles cockpit. Through the window he could see the massive fleet orbiting the planet Arkadia. It was a welcome sight. At the same time though, it was also disturbing. If his identity wasn't verified properly they would destroy him instantly. Within seconds the radio hummed into life.

"This is Captain Austin Shepard of Alpha Squad requesting permission to enter Arkadia space." Said Austin.

There was a brief pause before the Arkadia control replied.

"Our systems have your flagged as Cerberus. Please verify." It said.

"Authorization code zero one twelve nine, nine three slash APW slash eighteen." Said Austin. He then spoke something that EDI didn't translate. Of all the languages that translators in the galaxy picked up, Arkadian was not one of them. Because the Arkanes spoke English their language hadn't been programmed into the translators. Also, their language was extremely hard to learn. So hard in fact that all non Arkanes had to have all the knowledge transferred into their brains by a special Asari teacher.

"Identity confirmed. Permission to enter granted." Said the controller.

Austin breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

The shuttle touched down on one of the large landing pads. As soon as the door opened however, Austin and EDI where greeted by several Helldivers, each with their guns pointed right at him.

"We don't know how it is that you managed to find out the identity code, but Captain Austin Shepard has been dead for two years." Said the leader.

Austin instantly recognised the leader. It was his old mentor, General Zartrack.

"You don't recognise your own student?" Austin asked as he removed his helmet.

All the other Helldivers where rather shocked when they saw Austin's face and they backed away slightly. It was as if they were looking at a ghost. Zartrack though, seemed to keep his cool. Then to Austin's surprise, the General went up to him and gripped him by the neck as he brought Austin's face in line with his helmet.

"What are you…?" Austin struggled to say as the Helldiver General nearly strangled him.

Then to his surprise, Zartrack's helmet seemed to automatically retract and disappear on its own.

" _That's new."_ Austin thought as he found himself staring into the Arkane's scarred mantis like face.

Zartrack turned Austin's face from side to side in his hands and even sniffed him slightly. Like a Mantis, his mouth and mandibles made a quiet insect like chirp. Zartrack's expression then turned to surprise.

"Shepard?" he asked. "You're alive?"

"It's a long story, General. I would explain, but right now I could do with a few repairs and I'd like a Medical examination." Said Austin.

Zartrack slowly nodded. "Come with me."

* * *

Austin was now sat in a brand new version of the Helldiver suit remover. In the last two years he'd been dead, the Arkanes had clearly made a lot of upgrades to their technology. Even the Helldivers he'd seen earlier looked more new.

As the last of the six mechanical arms removed the last of his burnt and damaged armour another arm with what looked like a scanner attached to it appeared from the head rest on the seat he was in and began scanning him.

"All this in just two years? I'm surprised." Said Austin as a blue holographic ray swept over him.

"After you uncovered the truth about the Reapers we knew that we would need the very best to fight them." Said Zartrack.

"You still believe me? Even after two years?" Austin asked in surprise.

"You're one of the best soldiers humanity has to offer." Came a different voice. From out of the shadows stepped another Arkane. Unlike Zartrack though, he wasn't Helldiver. In fact he looked more like an engineer.

"If only I had a nickel for every time someone's said that to me." Said Austin. "And you are?"

"Oh of course. How rude of me. We've never actually met in person. My name is Dell Arturus. Perhaps you've heard of me?" said the Arkane as he gave a small bow.

Austin was taken aback by the name. He had indeed heard that name before lots of times.

" **The** Dell Arturus? One of the first seven Arkanes to create the Helldivers?" he asked.

"Who hasn't heard your name, old friend?" Zartrack asked as he crossed his arms happily.

"Well there are some that I've met who've never even heard a mention of me. What things do they teach in history these days?" Dell asked in joking manner as he typed away at the computer that was wired up into the suit remover.

"So what exactly are you doing to me at the moment?" Austin asked.

"At the moment, I'm running a scan. Your suit's recording unit has also turned up a lot of interesting things." Said Dell.

At that very moment EDI's avatar suddenly popped out of the computer causing Dell to jump back in shock. So shocked in fact that he tripped over a nearby crate.

"Was he meant to do that?" Austin giggled.

"He's a bit clumsy." Zartrack muttered as he raised his gun at the AI.

"I apologise for startling you Mr Arturus, but I felt it appropriate to introduce myself." Said EDI.

"Who and what are you?" Zartrack asked, still keeping his gun trained on EDI.

"It's alright, General. She's on our side. I can explain everything." Said Austin as he unhooked himself from the mechanical chair he'd been in.

After several long minutes of recounting his awakening on the Lazarus station, his discovery and deal with EDI and his escape, Austin waited for Zartrack's reaction.

"So this… AI…"

"EDI! Her name is EDI." SAID Austin defensively. The Ex-Cerberus AI had earned his trust now.

"Alright, EDI. You're certain that she can trusted?" Zartrack asked.

"EDI's had more than enough chances to kill me and she's already proven many times where her loyalties lie by directly defying Cerberus." Said Austin.

"The Captain makes a very good point, General." Said Dell. "Plus, if this… EDI was leaking information to Cerberus, I would've detected it. The computer's monitoring everything."

"I understand how this must seem to you, General Zartrack, but I promise you that I am on your side. Shepard has shown me the true face of Cerberus. While their goal may be noble, their means are in no way justified." Said EDI.

Zartrack took a long moment to think.

"Well, if Dell says that no unauthorised signals are being transferred, and if you truly believe that EDI can be trusted, then I suppose I can accept that." He finally said. "However, the Arkane Council are the ones who will truly need to be convinced. Also I am afraid that I have to insist that she be kept under strict observation. I'm not willing to take any chances for a Cerberus AI, regardless of her allegiance." He said.

"I understand, General." Said EDI.

Austin did want to protest, but before he could the door suddenly opened. Two Helldivers stepped in. One appeared to be a human while the other was a Turian. Austin couldn't tell for certain who the human was because she still had her helmet on. The Turian on the other hand didn't.

"Shepard, I thought you were dead." Said the Turian

Austin recognised him instantly.

"Garrus? What… how… what are you doing here?" Austin asked in shear surprise.

Standing in front of Austin was one of his old crew, Garrus Vakarian. The former C-sec agent had joined up with his crew two years ago to help him take down Saren. During that time he had learned much from the Helldiver.

"Didn't I tell you that I planned to join the Helldivers?" Garrus reminded him.

Austin quickly remembered that Garrus had told him about his application to the Helldivers after Sovereign had been destroyed.

"That's true, but I'm still so surprised to see you." Said Austin.

"Lieutenant Vakarian, Commander T'soni, glad you could make it." Said Zartrack.

Austin instantly froze at the mention of the name T'soni. It couldn't be! Could it?

"T'soni?" Austin managed to say.

The other Helldiver standing next to Garrus pressed a few buttons on her wrist panel and her helmet retracted. To Austin's utter shock, standing right in front of him in Helldiver armour was none other than Liara.

"Liara? Is it… ? Is it really you?" Austin stuttered.

Liara looked just as surprised as he did. The two slowly walked up to one another. Liara slowly put her hands on his face and looked deep into his eyes. Then suddenly her eyes went completely black and Austin felt her enter his mind. After what felt like several long moments of recounting all of his memories, everything returned to normal.

"It… it is you." Said Liara. She looked on the point of tears.

Before Austin could even say anything, Liara immediately grabbed him and pulled him into a long kiss. Austin was surprised at first but he then eased into it. Before he could really get into it though, Liara pulled away. She then shook her head, reminding Austin that they weren't alone.

Austin quickly cleared his throat. "Commander?" he asked.

"It's a long story. But now's not the time to explain. The Arkane Council want to speak with you immediately." Said Liara.

"This can't be good." Austin muttered.

* * *

Austin now stood before the Arkane Council, the governors of the entire Arkane race and the true leaders of the Helldivers. Each one of them looked immensely surprised to see Austin.

"Captain Austin Shepard… welcome back." Said the lead Councillor.

There were a few members of the Council that Austin still recognized. Obviously the past two years had seen several new faces join their ranks. In fact the Council was now twice as large as Austin remembered. Each council member controlled one bit of Helldiver and Arkane territory. Since the Council was now much larger it most likely meant that their territory had grown immensely.

The lead Councillor Austin recognised as Councillor Spartan. That of course wasn't his real name, all of the Councillors where named after the territory they controlled. In Spartan's case, he controlled the Spartan Star cluster that housed Arkadia, hence his leadership of the entire council. Some even considered him to be the Arkane king.

"Councillors. I am honoured to finally meet you again." Said Austin as he bowed his head. It felt different since he wasn't in his armour. Whenever he had previously addressed the Council he had always been in his suit. This time however it was currently being repaired by Dell.

"We have called this meeting because we wish to hear your side of the story. We have many rumours surrounding you're unexpected return. There have been some that we find very hard to believe. You are to tell us everything you know up to this point." Said one of the female councillors. Austin also recognized that one as Councillor Tarnack.

A long time passed as Austin explained everything to the Council, right down to the very last detail. He had nothing to hide after all. The Council didn't seem to show much reaction to his story, but then again that was their way. They were like Sphinx's; they were very hard to read.

After a long pause, Spartan spoke up.

"Where is this… EDI now?" he asked.

"I have the AI placed under watch. She will be monitored until you decide what to do with her, Councillors." Said Zartrack. The General gave a small bow as he said it and folded both his arms across his chest in across formation.

"As for you, Captain, you're return to us has proven you're undying loyalty to the Helldivers. For this, we feel it only fair that you be fully reinstated into the Helldivers at your former rank." Said Tarnack.

"Thank you, Councillors. I could never ask for anything more." Said Austin.

"Now that you have returned to our ranks, we feel it only fair that you know of the situation. As you can see, we have accomplished much over two years. We face the gravest threat in our brief existence." Said another one of the Councillors.

"The Reapers." Said Austin.

"Good to see that you're memories are still intact as well. You're going to need them. We're at war here. No one else wants to truly admit it, but humanity is under attack. In the past two years that you're suit has been… rebuilding you, entire colonies have been disappearing. Human colonies. We have firm reason to believe that it is someone working for the Reapers. Just as Saren and the Geth aided Sovereign." Said Spartan.

"I'm surprised that you still believe me after all this time. It's been nearly two years. I would've thought you'd eventually dismiss the Reapers without proof." Said Austin surprisingly.

"We're not like the Citadel Council, Shepard. Plus, even today you're still one of our finest soldiers, and even after you died we continued to find firm evidence that the Reapers existed. Zartrack himself was with you on Ilos when you encountered that hologram that told you about the Reapers. The Alliance and the Council all want to believe that the Reapers are a myth. But we all know better than that. You in particular have seen first-hand what those monsters are capable of." Said Spartan.

"Sovereign was trying to harvest all life in the galaxy. Why would the Reapers target a few human colonies?" Austin asked.

"Hundreds of thousands of colonists have vanished. We'd say that fits the definition of "harvesting." Nobody's paying attention because it's random and the attacks occur in remote locations. However, all those locations have been the Terminus Systems, the territory that we are sworn to protect. The Council seem to think that they can turn a blind eye to this because it is our duty to protect those colonists and they still fear the Terminus system just as much." Said Tarnack.

"We don't know why the Reapers have suddenly targeted humanity though. Though it is very likely that you got their attention when you killed one of them. As far as the Reapers are concerned, humanity is first species to ever defeat a Reaper. Perhaps they think you're species are not as weak as they thought." Said another unknown Councillor.

"If the colonies are all human why isn't the Alliance doing anything? They care for those colonies as much as we do." Austin asked.

"They suffered substantial losses fighting Sovereign. They're rebuilding, still stretched too thin to try and verify the Reaper threat. Somehow they're foolish enough to blame the abduction on mercs and pirates. They think it's more convenient." Said another Councillor.

"Haven't we been able to do anything? Don't we have Helldiver squads stationed on the colonies in our territory?" Austin asked.

"Unfortunately they've been disappearing too. We've been losing contact with them just as the colonies have also gone silent. When we've sent squads to investigate we've never found anything. On one planet however we did find one survivor, but he'd been badly injured and he didn't last long enough to give us anything useful. He was only able to give a brief, vivid description before he died." Said Tarnack.

"Sounds like we're in a dark time then." Said Austin.

"Now that you're back though, that is hopefully about to change." Said Spartan. "We have a drop ship ready to take you to Freedom's progress, the latest colony to be abducted. Commander T'soni and Lieutenant Vakarian will accompany you. Given their past relationship with you, you should do just fine with them."

"As you wish, Councillors. I will leave immediately." Said Austin.

"You're orders are simple. Find out who's abducting the colonies. Do they have any connection to the Reapers? There has to be a reason your suit brought you back from the dead, it's time you continued what you started." Said Tarnack.

"This meeting is concluded." Said Spartan.

With that, the Arkane Council dispersed. Austin immediately headed back to where he'd originally been. If he was heading back out into the field, he'd need his suit back.

* * *

As Austin stepped onto the platform, the five mechanical arms that he'd seen earlier once again appeared out of the ground. Each one was carrying a specific component of his armour. Austin merely relaxed as the arms worked constantly to put his armour back together. It was a very pleasurable sensation to be doing this again. It brought back so many fond memories.

Finally, the arms finished their work and disappeared back into the floor. Austin took a moment to look at himself. His armour had now been completely repaired and had also been polished and given a brand new coat of paint. It looked better than ever.

When Austin turned around to face Liara and Garrus, who had been watching, something felt different. Somehow the moments of his suit had felt different. However it was good sort of different. The movements seemed faster, more responsive. He also felt as though he had more freedom to move than he had ever before.

"Dell, are you sure this is the same armour? It feels… different." Austin asked.

Dell however simply smiled.

"Do not worry, Shepard. That is exactly the same armour you had on a few hours ago. However I have taken the liberty of giving your suit a major refit and I have also installed all our latest upgrades and technology." He said.

"Brilliant. I'll look forward to trying them out on Freedoms Progress." Said Austin. Before the Helldiver could leave however, Dell stopped him.

"You'll be trying them out now. I hate to do this, but I'm not allowed to let you go until you've properly familiarised yourself with the new additions I've given you. It won't take long though, I promise." Said Dell.

"Fine. If you insist." Austin sighed. "What's new then?"

"Over the past two years we've grown far more sophisticated. We also managed to salvage a lot of useful material from the remains of Sovereign. Sadly the technology was unusable, but the shear design and advancement of it gave us loads of new ideas, helped us perfect our current designs. Even show us that ideas we never thought even possible or previously thought unfeasible were indeed possible." Said Dell.

The Arkanes engineer than began going over the specific new upgrades that Austin had.

"For starters, we have perfected our tactical cloak. Give it a try." He said.

Austin did so and activated the clock. There was an electrical like humming sound as he seemed vanish almost completely. Austin now looked at himself. Unlike the previous cloaks that where more like adaptive camouflage, this one actually seemed to make him completely invisible.

"Now, try and move fast in it." Said Dell.

Austin did so and performed several fast movements that would normally have disabled the cloak instantly. Nothing happened.

"Oh, very impressive." Said Austin impressively.

"Indeed. In addition to making upgrades to our processing power to allow faster movements, we've managed to invent a whole new kind of cloak. Not only does it hide you physically, but it also hides your body heat and anything else from scanners completely. In addition to that, the new cloak is twice as efficient as the original. So efficient in fact, it hardly drains anything from the cloak power cell. There is one downside though." Said Dell.

"When is there never?" Austin replied.

"Something about the new cloak makes it unable to be used in water. So if you get wet at all, the cloak won't work until you're dry enough." Said Dell. "We're still looking into that. Anyway, all the other upgrades I think you'll find more familiar. As you probably already know, we've found ways of redesigning our plate armour. It's twice as strong, and even lighter, than its predecessor. I personally also found a way of removing a few small plates for flexibility. Now you'll be lighter, faster, more agile, and probably even stronger than before. We've also made massive upgrades to the software as well. All Helldiver suits now have faster and more efficient computers. We've also redesigned the user interface. You should find a new HUD in your helmet."

Sure enough, the HUD and user interface inside Austin's helmet was vastly different than he remembered. Once again though, it was good different. The change was for the better. Then Austin noticed that there was something on his left shoulder.

"What's this?" he asked as he pointed to it.

"Ah! Now that is my latest invention. You'll love this. It's a plasma cannon." Dell replied happily. "All Helldivers these days have at least one."

"Seems a bit small to be a plasma cannon." Said Austin.

"Remember who you're talking to, Captain. It's derived from the plasma cannon that the Terror Geth once used." Said Dell.

Austin shuddered slightly as he remembered Saren's old lieutenant.

"So how does it work?"

"Well, I'll show you." Said Dell.

The Arkane typed a command into his computer and a set of targets popped up.

"Right, target one of those. Just think it." He said.

Austin looked at one of the targets and concentrated. Sure enough, a small target reticule suddenly appeared as he locked on. From inside his helmet, he watched as the small shoulder cannon seemed to move on a mechanical arm. A target laser was pointing out of the cannon right at the spot he had locked onto. The cannon then lined itself up with the designated target and within just a few seconds, it fired.

A small bolt of bright blue plasma shot right out of the cannon and the target was disintegrated in a small explosion of sparks.

"Nice!" said Austin in amazement. At the same time he moved his head around to make sure the cannon didn't get in the way. Due to the flexibility of its mechanical arm though, the helmet didn't interfere at all. In fact the cannon even followed his head movements and pointed in the same direction at all times wherever his helmet looked. Austin was going to have a lot of fun with this

"I thought you'd say that. Plus, there's more. At the moment, you've got it in manual setting. There are two more, automatic, and target mode. The automatic does all the targeting and firing for you. This is handy if you're pinned by lots of enemies. The target mode is slightly different. In that mode, the cannon will automatically lock onto the nearest enemy but will not fire until you give the command." Said Dell. He then picked up what looked like an instruction manual and handed it to Austin. "In fact, all the details are here. You should be able to shoot through that in a couple of hours."

To Dell's utter shock, Austin then threw it up in the air, right in line of fire of the cannon. Since the Helldiver had already switched the camera to automatic, the cannon instantly locked on to the moving object and fired. The manual was obliterated instantly and all that was left was some burnt paper remains falling to the ground.

"Just took a few seconds, Dell." Said Austin smugly.

Garrus couldn't contain himself and he burst into laughter. Liara also found it difficult to contain hers laughter and a chuckle came out of her mouth. Dell meanwhile face palmed.

"Now I see where Garrus gets it from." He sighed.

* * *

**I loved including that last bit! It was hilarious!**

**If you do have any questions or concerns, please leave a review or PM me and I will answer you.**

**Also, if there are any Miranda and Jacob fans reading this, do not worry! The characters will still join Shepard's crew later on the story. It will just happen slightly differently than in the game.**

**See you next time!**


	3. Chapter 3, Freedom's Progress

**Right! Now thing start to get more interesting!**

**Little more for me to say, other than enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**Freedom's Progress**

"We should be there shortly. Do you have any orders?" Liara asked.

The three Helldivers where sat inside one the Hellhound drop ships. They were already nearing Freedom's Progress. Austin had to admit that it felt nice to be back with the Helldivers. Especially Liara and Garrus. He was however worried about where his relationship with Liara stood. So far they hadn't had time to discuss where their relationship stood and Austin was also worried that Liara had moved on. Two years was a very long time.

Austin sat up slightly as Liara asked him the question.

"You sure you'll be comfortable following my orders? It has been two years after all." He asked.

"We weren't sent on this mission just to second guess you, Shepard. If the Arkanes say you're in charge, you're in charge." Said Garrus.

"That's good to hear. What was found at the other colonies?" Austin asked.

"Nothing. No signs of battle, no bodies, nothing to even give us a hint of what happened." Liara replied.

"Then what makes you think we might be successful this time?" Austin asked.

"At other colonies, most have already been investigated or scavenged. We're hoping to be the first ones there this time." Said Garrus.

"Very well then. We do this by the book. First priority: look for survivors." Said Austin as he unholstered the assault rifle that he'd been provided with. The additional weapons that he'd been given were only temporary. He'd be given better ones soon.

"There aren't very high chances of us finding anyone though. Every other colony has been completely deserted." Said Liara. She wasn't saying it in a negative manner however.

"Still, it'd be nice to find somebody. Anything's better than another ghost town." Said Garrus.

As the drop ship begun its final landing, Austin took a moment to examine the armour of both his comrades.

Garrus it seemed had stuck with having a desert military like appearance and had his armour painted a light brown colour. He also had several canisters and ammo packs strapped in various places. The most noticeable feature though was that the Turian had added a light brown camouflage mane around the back of the neck and also had a net around his helmet.

Liara meanwhile had gone for a very different approach. It seemed that Liara had made her Helldiver armour similar to the armour she had originally worn on the Normandy. A few of the pieces where taken directly from her white and pink Janissary armour. In addition to this, she also had several biotic canisters strapped to her arms, torso and legs. Surprisingly some of them where blue as well as red.

From what Austin had been told, in the last two years the Arkanes had managed to create a new kind of compound capable of boosting biotic powers. Unlike the usual compound, Red Sand, this new compound known as Blue sand was just as powerful but did not cause severe tissue damage, nor was it toxic. At the moment, Blue Sand was only available to Helldivers and was kept under strict security to make sure it was never stolen. Despite this though, Helldivers still wore a few red sand canisters as well since Blue Sand numbers where still very scarce since the compound had only been invented very recently.

In addition to this, Liara also had the symbol of Thessia on her left shoulder plate, a Prothean symbol on her left chest plate and even an N7 gauntlet on her right arm. On closer inspection, Austin noticed that it was in fact his due to its battle injury and burnt scorch marks. He remembered now that when he had awakened, his right arm had been missing some armour plates. It made sense that Liara would have it since she had loved him. Austin saw no need to ask for it back since it not only looked good on Liara but the repairs that Dell had made to his armour had now given him a replacement.

As the Hellhound touched down, Liara unholstered her M-9 Tempest sub machine gun while Garrus unholstered an M-92 Mantis Sniper rifle. Austin meanwhile was simply left a standard issue M-8 Avenger. It would do, for now.

The drop ship doors opened and the three Helldivers stepped out. It was completely dark and there were no lights on. It seemed like the colonies power was down.

"Switch your flashlights on." said Austin as he switched his own on. The flashlights cleverly located on his shoulders and helmet came to life and illuminated the darkness.

Liara and Garrus did the same and switched their own on. They also took out their flashlight attachments and fitted them to their rifles.

They took the pace slowly to be on the safe side. There where all sorts of things that could hide in the dark and Austin hated nasty surprises. As their flashlights scanned around the room they were in, the sensors seemed to take notice of their movements and the actual lights flickered on. They were in what looked like a dining hall. There was some still unfinished food and overturned chairs in front of the tables.

"Looks like everyone just got up and left right in the middle of dinner." said Garrus.

As they continued through the colony, all they could hear was the sounds of their footsteps. There was something eerie and very spooky about a deserted colony at night with hardly any lights on.

"No bodies, no structural damage, no sign of battle." said Liara.

"Keep it tight, you two. This place may be deserted, but I'm not taking any risks." said Austin.

Ahead was what looked like a loading door. Austin nodded to Garrus and the Turian accessed the controls to the door. As the door slid downwards into the floor however they were immediately fired upon. Austin and Liara instantly dove for cover while Garrus stayed at the control panel where he was.

"That's strange. The security systems where disabled at the other colonies." said Liara.

The Asari briefly looked out of cover and threw a very powerful biotic warp at their attackers. Garrus meanwhile leaned out and fired a few shots from his sniper. Austin meanwhile simply glanced out. He liked to know what he was up against. From what he could see, it was a few security mechs and some dog mechs. Austin felt in an experimenting mood and decided to once again test out the new plasma cannon that Dell had given him. Deciding to be even more clever than usual he took out a sensor from on the pouches on his combat belt and threw it near to where the mechs where.

There was a small energy pulse that lit up on Austin's HUD and the outlines of the mechs appeared. Setting his plasma cannon to automatic, he fired a few shots from his rifle at the mechs while the shoulder cannon locked onto the nearest mech and fired. Unlike the targets Austin had practiced on earlier, the mech was vaporised completely by the plasma shot. The mech next to it was temporarily distracted, giving Austin's plasma cannon enough time to charge up again and automatically fire another shot. Austin meanwhile simply did normal shooting from cover with his rifle. The mechs didn't last long.

Austin noticed that Liara's biotics seemed to be much stronger than he originally remembered. Then again, two years was a long time to develop biotic powers, especially with Helldiver training. He also noticed that Liara's biotics weren't the only thing about her that had changed about her, but he pulled his mind away from the sexual thoughts of seeing her naked again. He had to stay focused on the battle.

Garrus meanwhile was quite literally going by the saying "One shot, one kill!" The Turian didn't miss at all. Not that Austin had doubted him at all, Garrus had always been a great shot, but with a Helldiver suit he seemed even better.

Once they had finished, all the mechs lay in ruins on the floor. Only too late did they notice that they had left out the dog which lunged at Austin. The Captain however was a fast reactor. Just as the mech landed on in he fired a shot from his plasma cannon which knocked the mech off him. As it tried to get back up, he activated his omni blade and plunged it into the mech. It went limp instantly.

"Those mechs shouldn't have been hostile. They should've recognised us as Helldivers, or at least recognised Shepard as human." said Garrus, just a bit out of breath.

"Someone reprogrammed them to attack on sight. We're not alone here!" said Liara.

* * *

Along the way, they encountered a few more mechs before they found themselves facing a locked building.

"Locked. Why is it locked?" Garrus asked.

"Let's find out." said Austin.

The Helldiver walked up to the door and activated his omni tool. The encryption wasn't hard to bypass and the door opened within seconds. As soon as it did however, they were met with company. There were several Quarians in the room. They immediately took notice of the Helldivers and drew their weapons.

"Stop right there!" said the leader.

Austin, Liara and Garrus also drew their weapons in defence and stood their position.

Before anything more could be said though, one of the female Quarians spoke out and tried to lower the leader's weapon. Her voice sounded very familiar.

"Prazza! You said you'd let me handle this." She said. She then turned to the Helldivers. She was speechless when she saw Austin.

"Wait! Austin?"

"Tali?" Austin asked. Could it really be her?

Tali immediately turned back to the other Quarians.

"It's okay, Prazza. They're Helldivers." She said.

The Quarian leader, Prazza, seemed to relax slightly. Be he still didn't look convinced.

"How does that one know your name, Tali?" he asked.

"This one is, Shepard. My old, Commander." Tali replied. She then seemed to hesitate though and turned back to Austin.

"Austin, is that…? You're alive." She asked nervously.

Austin lowered his gun and signalled to the others to do the same.

"Yes, and I'll prove it's me. Remember when I gave you that Geth data, Tali? From your new look, I'm guessing it helped you complete your pilgrimage?" Austin replied.

"Yes it did." Said Tali. She was convinced. She then turned back to Prazza. "Prazza, weapons down! This is definitely Commander Shepard."

"Captain, actually." Austin corrected her.

"It's an honor to finally meet you, Captain. Tali has always spoken very highly of you." Said Prazza as he put his weapon away.

Austin nodded to the Quarian and then turned to Garrus and Liara.

"I think we can all be friendly here." He said.

Garrus and Liara nodded and retracted their helmets. Austin did the same. Tali was once again shocked to see them.

"Garrus? Liara?" she struggled to say.

"Good to see you too, Tali." Said Garrus happily.

"Tali." Said Liara as she nodded.

"But why are you here exactly?" Tali asked.

"This human colony is inside Helldiver territory. The Arkane council sent us here to investigate as to why human colonies in the Terminus systems are disappearing." Said Liara.

"Then perhaps we can work together? We're here looking for a young Quarian named Veetor. He was here on Pilgrimage." Said Tali.

"Isn't that a little strange? A Quarian visiting a remote human colony?" Austin asked suspiciously.

"Quarians can choose where they go on Pilgrimage. Veetor liked the idea of helping out a small settlement, he was always… nervous in crowds." Said Tali.

"I don't mean to sound negative, but the whole colony's deserted. What makes you think Veetor's alive"? Austin asked.

"We saw him when we landed." Prazza replied.

"You saw him? Why isn't he with you then?" Garrus asked.

"Veetor was unstable. Combine that with damage to his suit's CO2 scrubbers and an infection from an open air exposure, and he's likely delirious." Prazza replied.

"When he saw us landing, he hid in a warehouse on the far side of town. We also suspect he reprogrammed the mechs to attack anything that moved." Said Tali.

"That explains it." Said Liara.

"Veetor's the only person who can tell us what happened. We should work together to find him." Austin suggested.

"Good idea. You'll need two teams to get past the drones anyway." Tali agreed.

"Working with Helldivers? This should be interesting." Said Prazza.

"Head through the warehouse through the centre of the colony we'll circle around the far side and draw of some of the drones to clear you a path." Said Tali.

"Make sure to keep in radio contact." Said Austin. As he said it, his helmet folded back up and sealed itself. The others did the same.

"Will do. Good luck, Austin. Whatever happens, it's good to have you back." Said Tali as she and the other Quarians headed out.

"That was… unexpected. It was surprising to see Tali again." Said Garrus as he, Austin and Liara soon followed.

"Stay focused, Garrus." Said Austin.

As they left the building they'd been in earlier, Tali's voice came over the radio.

"Be careful, Austin. There's a squad of security drones up ahead." She said.

"Thanks for the warning, Tali. We'll take care of it." Said Garrus.

Sure enough, as soon as they cleared the next building they were pinned down by security drones.

"Take cover!" Austin yelled.

Garrus managed to snipe one of the drones before taking cover and Liara also gunned one down with her SMG. Austin also returned fire with his assault rifle before taking cover. He then set his shoulder cannon to automatic. Because the mechanical arm was long enough, the cannon was able to look right over cover and shoot at the targets. Austin found that very handy. No doubt it would come in useful when pinned by targets. Liara meanwhile created several biotic singularities which proved useful in rounding up the drones.

Garrus and Austin finished off the last few with either their guns or with a plasma blast or an overload from Garrus.

With the drones taken care of, Austin and the others proceeded further through the colony.

"Austin, we're heading for the loading docks. If we find Veetor, I'll make sure we wait for you." came Tali's voice.

"Roger that. We're almost there." Said Austin.

After fighting their way through another wave of mechs, the three Helldivers reached the loading bay doors.

"Austin, you have to hurry! Veetor reprogrammed the heavy mech, it's tearing Prazza's squad apart!" came Tali's voice.

"We're on our way!" said Austin. He then turned to his squad mates. "You heard her! Double time!" he yelled.

All three Helldivers instantly sprinted for the loading bay door.

"Get your squad into cover and I'll open the loading bay doors." Said Tali.

"You two, take cover by the doors. I'll take point." Austin ordered as he took cover behind a nearby barricade in front of the door. Garrus and Liara went to each side of the door. After a few seconds, the door opened. There was the sound of clunking metal and heavy weapon fire. Several Quarians where retreating from an unseen enemy. They were suddenly cut down by heavy fire. One female Quarian tried to crawl, but the Heavy mech then revealed itself and crushed the Quarian with its foot before finishing her with several rounds to the head.

The heavy mech was enormous. In fact it reminded Austin a lot of X-5, a prototype battle robot that he and Alpha Squad had previously fought alongside.

The heavy mech stood at around two and a half meters tall and was definitely armed to the teeth with armour plating and two miniguns on each hand, along with rocket launchers.

The mech then turned its attention to more of the Quarians and fired a rocket at them. It impacted, killing two Quarians in the process and sending them flying. The mech then fired several rounds at Prazza, ripping his suit to pieces and killing him instantly.

"That Mech's got heavy armour plating. The Quarians never stood a chance." said Garrus as he took cover behind a nearby crate. Liara and Austin did the same.

"Tali, are you alright?" Austin asked urgently into his wrist communicator.

"I'm alright, Austin. But the mech has me pinned inside the building! You're going to have to deal with that thing while I tend to the wounded." Tali replied.

"That mech will not be easy to take down." said Liara as she readied for another fight.

"We're a team here! We can do this!" said Austin as he reloaded his assault rifle. The Captain briefly leaned out of cover and fired a few shots in order to get the Mech's attention and draw it away from where Tali and the wounded were hiding. The mech quickly took notice and began stomping over to where they were.

"Rocket!" Garrus yelled as he fired a rocket from his own shoulder cannon. It seemed that he had a slightly different one to Austin.

The mech however reacted fast to the rockets and shot them before they could hit their target.

"Crap! I thought that would work!" said Garrus as he retreated out of sight slightly.

"I have an idea." said Austin.

* * *

The mech scanned for its nearby enemies. For a moment it couldn't see them. Then Austin suddenly dove out of cover and fired at the mech as he sprinted to another box. The mech fired several shot which just barely managed to miss the Helldiver. Liara then shot several biotic warps at the mech which caused it to stagger slightly before it returned fire.

Garrus meanwhile had activated his cloak and was slowly sneaking around so that he could get behind the mech. As Liara and Austin continued distracting the mech, he carefully snuck up behind it and activated his own omni blade which was electrically charged. The heavy mech immediately took notice of Garrus when it detected that Garrus had impaled it in the side. It swung one its massive arms at him but Garrus rolled backwards just in time for it to miss him.

The mech was now focused on Garrus but this was part of Austin's plan. The Helldiver captain then leapt onto the Heavy mechs soldiers and fired at its head multiple times. The mech tried to throw him off, but it wasn't designed to do that sort of thing. The best it could do was to move around frantically. Finally, once Austin had worn the armour down on the mechs head, he activated his own omni blade and plunged it right in. He then twisted it violently and pulled the head right off. Before he could then impale again though he noticed that Mech's core was overloading.

"It's gonna blow!" Austin yelled as jumped down.

Garrus and Liara quickly retreated to a safe distance and Austin just managed to slide behind a nearby crate. The entire mech exploded as its core overloaded and the whole place seemed to shake slightly as the massive explosion echoed everywhere.

"Phew! That was close." said Garrus as he got up.

"You know what they say? Go out with a big bang!" Austin panted slightly.

The Helldivers quickly went back to the building where Tali was, just to check on her.

"I have to tend to the wounded, Austin. You go on ahead and find Veetor. He's probably somewhere in the back of the loading bay." said the Quarian.

* * *

Austin and the others headed for the nearest building near to where Tali was and eventually managed to get the locked door open. Sure enough, there was another Quarian sat at a console typing away furiously at a keypad and constantly muttering to himself.

"Monsters coming back. Mechs will protect. Safe from swarms. Have to hide. No monsters. No swarms. No no no no no." he said.

"Veetor?" Austin asked.

"No Veetor. Not here. Swarms can't find. Monsters coming. Have to hide." Said Veetor as he continued typing away, oblivious to Helldivers behind him.

"Nobody's going to hurt you anymore." said Austin calmly.

"I don't think he can hear you, Shepard." said Liara.

Austin keyed a command into his omni tool as Veetor continued typing away with stopping. He then swept his hand across all the screens that Veetor was sat in front of. They all went static with a warning sign on them as the Helldiver's omni toll swept over them.

Veetor sat back, confused and surprised. The Quarian finally seemed to take notice of the Helldivers behind him and turned to face them.

"You're... you're Helldivers! Where did you hide? How come they didn't find you?" he asked in surprise, and also fright.

"Who didn't find us?" asked Liara.

"The... The monsters. The swarms. They took everyone." Said Veetor.

"What exactly happened, Veetor? Why didn't the colonists fight back? Or, what happened to the Helldivers that where posted here?" Austin asked.

"You don't know. You didn't see, but I see everything." said Veetor.

The Quarian pressed a few buttons on his keypad and the screens came to life with what looked like a video recording. There where swarms of what looked like bugs all over the recording.

"Looks like security footage. He must've pieced it together manually." said Liara.

Then Garrus noticed something. "What's that?" he asked as he pointed to something in the recording. It froze to show some kind of humanoid insect creature.

"Goddess! I think it's a Collector!" said Liara. There was lot of shock in the Asari's voice.

Austin turned to Liara in surprise.

"I thought they were a just a myth. No proof was ever found that they existed." he said.

"In the past two years we've recently been finding firm evidence to prove that they exist. They mostly work through intermediaries, like slavers or hired mercenaries. If they're involved with the Reapers somehow, it could explain what happened to the colonies." said Liara.

"The Collectors have advanced technology that very easily rivals our own. They could have a weapon that can disable an entire settlement at once." said Garrus.

"The seeker swarms. No one can hide. The seekers find you, freeze you. Then the monsters take you away." Said Veetor.

"Why didn't the Collectors take you?" Austin asked.

"Swarms didn't find me. Monsters didn't know I was here." Veetor replied.

"The Collectors aren't known for being careless. It could be that his suit kept him from showing up in their sensors." Said Garrus.

"Or they were using technology specifically designed for humans. Only those colonies have been hit." Said Liara.

"What happened next?" Austin asked calmly.

"The monsters took the people into the ship, and then they left. The ship flew away, but they'll be back for me. No one escapes!" said Veetor.

"I think that's all we can get out of him, Shepard." Said Garrus.

"We appreciate what you told us, Veetor." said Austin.

"I studied them. The monsters. The swarms. I recorded them with my omni tool. Lots of readings. Electromagnetic. Dark energy." said Veetor.

"We need that data!" said Liara.

At that moment, Tali walked in.

"Veetor! I'm glad to see you're alright." she said happily.

"Tali? What are you doing here?" Veetor asked in surprise.

"It's alright, Veetor. You're safe. I'm here to take you home." said Tali. She then turned to the Helldivers. "Thank you for finding him, Austin. I owe you." she said.

"I know how you can live up to that. Veetor's omni tool data shows what happened here and also that it's connected to the Reapers. We need to take that data back to the Arkane Council." said Austin.

"You're perfectly welcome to, Austin. But I have to take Veetor back to the fleet. He's traumatized and he needs medical care." said Tali.

"That's fine. Veetor's been through a lot. I wouldn't even dream of putting him through more." said Austin.

"Thank you, Austin. I'm glad that two years hasn't changed you." said Tali.

"You don't have to take Veetor and go, Tali. We could work together, just like old times." Austin suggested.

"I want to, but I can't. I've got a mission of my own. When it's over, and I'm still alive, we'll see." said Tali.

"That sounds dangerous. What are you doing?" Austin asked.

"I can't tell you the full details, but it's in Geth space. That should tell you how important it is." Tali replied.

"I understand. Then I wish you good luck out there, Tali. Stay safe." said Austin.

"Keelah se'lai, Austin. If I find anything that can help you, I'll let you know." said Tali gratefully as she and Austin shook hands.

"We're ready for pickup." said Liara into her communicator.

* * *

"Captain Shepard, good work on Freedom's Progress. The Quarians forwarded their findings from Veetor's debriefing. No new data, but we're pleased that they still hold us in such high regard." said Spartan.

Austin and the others had now returned to Arkadia and was now stood in front of the Arkane council.

"That comes as no surprise to me, Councillors. Several of their people are in our ranks, and Tali Zorah was always a good friend." said Austin.

"Indeed. But more importantly, you confirmed that the Collectors are behind the abductions. We're are impressed." said Tarnack.

"I don't mean to sound suspicious, Councillors. But why do I get the feeling that you knew about them already?" Austin asked.

"We had our suspicions, but we needed firm proof. The Collectors are enigmatic at best. But now we have it." said one of the Councillors. That was one that Austin was unfamiliar with.

"What do we know about them?" Austin asked.

"They periodically travel to the Terminus systems, looking to gather seemingly unimportant items or specimens. Usually in exchange for their technology. When their transactions are complete, they disappear as quickly as they arrive, back beyond the unmapped Omega 4 Relay. Until now, we've had now evidence of direct aggression against the Collectors." Said Tarnack.

"What makes you all truly think that the Reapers are involved?" Austin asked.

"The patterns are there, buried in the data. The Council and the Alliance want to believe that the Reaper threat died with Sovereign. You, this Council, and the rest of the Helldivers know better. We know they're still out there. For the last two years we've been researching further ways to advance our technology and we've been recruiting heavily. Regardless of what the Council say or think, we're preparing for a full scale war when the next cycle starts. We've been trying to enforce the truth out a bit and to try and spread the word, but you know how convincing the Council can be when they want the truth hidden." Said one the councillors.

"Precisely! We won't wait until the Reapers are on the march. The fight needs to be taken to them!" said Spartan.

"If this is a war, I'll need an army... or a really good team." said Austin.

"We're already compiling a list of scientists, mercenaries and assassins. You'll get dossiers on the best of them. Meanwhile, we'll continue to track the Collectors. When they make their next appearance, we'll notify you and your team." said Spartan.

"With all due respect Councillors, I don't think that's necessary. My old team that helped me stop Saren would be ideal for the job." said Austin politely.

"That was two years ago, Captain. Obviously Commander T'soni and Lieutenant Vakarian will accompany you, but most of the team have moved on." said Tarnack.

"Where's Ashley Williams?" Austin asked.

"She's still with the Alliance. But at the moment she's on a top secret mission. We don't have any further details."

"Urdnot Wrex?"

"He returned to Tuchanka, and he hasn't gone off world in over a year. He's trying to unite the Krogan clans.

"What about Tali? She already helped us out on Freedom's Progress."

"That was unexpected. The Council will need more Intel before we can commit to that. We will keep her in mind though. Her friendship with you would benefit the mission greatly.

"What about Alpha Squad? My old team would be able to do this, no problem."

"Unfortunately, they too aren't available. They're currently away on an important mission and we have no idea when they'll return. It could be weeks at most. Far too long to wait with Collectors attacking our territory."

"Okay, I get it. None of the old gang's available." Austin sighed.

"You're a leader. You'll get who you want… Major." Said Spartan.

"I'm sure I… Did I hear right Councillors? Did you just call me Major?" Austin asked in disbelief.

"Indeed. Your loyalty to us is commendable alone. Your actions on Freedom's Progress, and discovering the truth about the Collectors only adds to that. As a result, we have agreed that it is only fair you be promoted. Congratulations, Major." Said Spartan. Some of the Arkanes clapped at this.

Austin didn't know what to say. Major! He never anticipated that this would happen for another 5 years or so.

"Thank you, Councillors. I'm deeply honoured." Said Austin as he bowed his head. He did his best to hide how excited he was. "Anyway, I will make sure that this new team is ready when the time comes." He said.

"Good. We have two things before you go." Said Tarnack. "First, we recommend that you start by heading to Omega and recruiting Professor Mordin Solus. He's a brilliant Salarian scientist. Our intelligence suggests that he may know how to counteract the Collector's paralysing seeker swarms."

"I appreciate that, Councillors. I'll make sure to start there. What's the second?" Austin asked.

Spartan them seemed to smile.

"We found a pilot for your new ship that we think you might like. We're told that he's one of the best, someone you can trust." He said.

Austin could then tell there was someone behind him. He turned to look and was completely speechless.

"Hey Major! Just like old times, huh?" said Joker.

* * *

Joker rubbed his aching jaw as the doors opened. The reunion... hadn't gone as he'd hoped. The first thing Austin had asked him was "How's the arm?" in a very bitter voice. It didn't take Joker long to realize that Austin had placed the blame for his two year coma on him. An angry punch had followed.

"I said I was sorry." he said irritably.

"You should be tankful he didn't break something." said Liara, also in a somewhat bitter tone.

Austin couldnt' help but wonder, did she blame him for his coma as well?

"How'd you get here anyway?" Austin asked.

"It all fell apart without you, Major. Everything you stirred up, the Council just wanted it gone. Team was broken up, records sealed, and I was grounded. The Alliance took away the one thing that mattered to me. Hell yeah I joined the Helldivers!" said Joker.

"You must be quite lucky. Getting a pilot job must be difficult in the Helldivers." Said Austin.

"Quite the opposite actually. The pay's twice as good as it was in the Alliance, and they're actually in need of good pilots like me. They welcomed me with open arms. So I now take back what I used to think about your kin. They're not bad at all. Saved your life, let me fly, and there's this. They only told me last night." Said Joker.

At that moment, the lights in the hanger bay they were looking into came on and revealed the ship.

"You have got to be kidding me!" said Austin in disbelief as the lights came on to reveal a Brand new and much bigger version the Normandy. On the side it said, Normandy SR2 and it now had Helldiver colours. It was unbelievable.

"It's good to be home, huh Major?" Joker asked.

"I guess we'll have to give her name." Austin chuckled as he smiled under his helmet. He had heard of a second chance, but getting back nearly everything that he'd lost? It was a dream come true!

Austin Shepard of the Helldivers was back!

* * *

"It wasn't our fault sir. EDI… went rouge on us." Said Miranda

The Cerberus operative was currently addressing the hologram of her boss, the Illusive Man. The one in charge of Cerberus and the Helldiver's most hated enemy.

No one knew the Illusive Man's real name, not even his most trusted operatives in Cerberus. The term Illusive Man was actually a codename that the Helldivers had given him. He had taken a liking to the name and had stuck with it since.

The Illusive man was mostly sat in shadow. He wore a type of black suit with a small white neck lining. From what could be seen of his face, he had white hair and bright blue cybernetic eyes. Behind the Illusive Man, was the view of a massive red and blue star, it was quite a sight.

With Miranda also where the holograms of her partner, Jacob Taylor. There was also someone else with them. This figure was a Cerberus assassin. She was clad in a special type of combat armour that was designed for protection, mobility and speed all in one. The armour was white with the exception of black legs and some yellow stripes on the arms. The figure also had a sword on her belt, along of a projectile weapon concealed inside her palm. She was identified by the name, Shadow.

Shadow was the first of the Phantom program. A program still currently being researched by Cerberus to try and copy some the technology of the Helldivers. Shadow had been the first successful prototype and since served as the Illusive Man's top assassin.

"Do we know at all why EDI simply turned on us?" the Illusive Man asked.

"From what Wilson and I monitored, Shepard drained a massive amount of power from the station to recharge his armour. During that he must have somehow interacted with the stations systems. The recorded conversations we picked up showed that this somehow removed all of EDI's hard locks and she became self-aware. Apparently she saw us as the enemy and made a deal with Shepard. He served as her courier while she helped him find a way off the station." Miranda answered. She was doing her best to hide her nervousness. Shepard's escape hadn't boded well for her. She had been Project Lazarus's leader and the only test subject, the subject that they had spent two years trying to bring back, had now escaped.

Miranda could tell that Shadow was smirking evilly at her from under her helmet. The two had always had a rivalry for the Illusive Man's approval. Although Miranda was well known to be the favourite among Cerberus, Shadow was more feared by the others and through that fear she gained respect.

The Phantom was violent, hard to keep under control and willing to kill anyone who stood up to her. The only thing that kept her from slaughtering Miranda though was that she knew she herself would be next if she disobeyed the Illusive Man.

The Illusive Man then turned to Shadow.

"What did you find at Freedom's Progress?" he asked.

"Nothing! They got there before I did. Fortunately, the security cameras where still working. From the footage, I found what they found. One Quarian survived the abduction and he gave all he knew to the Helldivers. From what he said, the Collectors are behind the abductions." Said Shadow.

There was a pause as the Illusive Man contemplated this.

"So our theory's where right after all. Just as I expected." He said.

"From what my sources tell me, the Arkanes have sent Shepard to take the fight to them. He's putting a team to together as we speak." Said Shadow.

There was once again another pause.

"Shepard will be short sighted. The technology that the collector's possess has the ability to secure human dominance in the galaxy against the Reapers and beyond. We can't let that Helldiver destroy it." He said.

"My thoughts exactly, Sir. What are your orders?" Miranda asked, relived that she wouldn't be punished for Shepard's escape.

"A team of our finest agents will be at your aid. The goal is simple, find Shepard and bring him in alive if necessary. He spent too long with us to escape now." Said the Illusive Man.

"I'll see to it personally, Sir." Said Miranda.

"No! Shadow will handle this operation herself. You take orders from her now. Shepard's escape has somewhat shaken may faith in you, Miranda. That'll be all." Said the Illusive Man. He cut the communication leaving Miranda, Jacob, and Shadow alone in the comm room.

"Hear that, Lawson? Sounds like you're no longer his favourite anymore." Said Shadow evilly.

Miranda was simply lost for words and there was a sign of sadness on her face.

"Quit you're sulking! You compromise this mission, you're dead to me!" said Shadow. "We leave in five hours."

The Phantom left the room before the two Cerberus operatives.

"I will make Shepard pay for what he has done to me!"

* * *

**Dun dun dun!**

**The Collectors aren't the only problem!**

**For anyone also worried about the bit about Alpha Squad, do not worry! They appear in the story very early. In Chapter 5 in fact.**

**Anyway, next chapter will cover the exploration of the New Normandy and will also have Shepard and Liara mending their relationship. So be warned that next Chapter will contain make-up sex.**


	4. Chapter 4, Under the Stars

 

**I do not take any credit for the pictures used.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Under the Stars**

Austin, Liara and Garrus proceeded through the bridge and into the CIC of the new Normandy. It was the same sort of design, but because this new Normandy was twice as large as the original it was vastly different.

"Welcome home, Major." said Garrus.

Since the three wouldn't be seeing action anytime soon, they had all removed their armour and where now in their off duty uniforms. Austin was wearing the traditional Helldiver uniform he usually wore when off duty, Garrus had something that oddly enough seemed to resemble the C-sec uniform that he had originally worn, but Liara's was the most surprising. The Asari had a white and blue outfit which looked like a cross between armour and business uniform. It was mostly white with only a few pieces being blue and it also had a short combat skirt at the back. The outfit was also tight fitting and it showed off the Asari's... assets rather well.

Austin smiled at the new CIC and proceeded down the stairs. He then stood in front of galaxy map.

"I've been looking over the dossiers. I agree with the Arkanes Council's recommendation in starting by acquiring Mordin Solus on Omega. We know now that the Collectors use some kind of advanced technology to immobilise their victims. We'll need him to develop a counter measure." said Liara.

"I concur. Without that counter measure, we'll be helpless if we run into the Collectors." said Austin.

"I agree as well. Acquiring Professor Solus seems like the best option." came a familiar, synthetic female voice.

"EDI?" Austin asked in surprise.

From behind Austin, a blue holographic avatar appeared.

"Hello, Shepard. It is good to see you again." said EDI as Austin turned to face her.

Austin was surprised at what he saw. It was definitely EDI, but her avatar was completely different. Instead of the odd sphere avatar that she had originally, she now had humanoid robot like avatar. It was very nice though. The avatar had a very slender female figure. The head stood out the most though. It had a holographic visor over her eyes and a curved metallic crest obviously designed to resemble hair. The face was capable of showing emotions and EDI appeared happy to see Austin again.

"This is unexpected, but very welcome." said Austin. "Should warn you though, EDI. Helmsmen aren't happy when someone takes control of the ship away from them, especially Joker."

"I do not helm the ship, Shepard. Mr Moreau's talents will not go to waste. During combat I operate the cyber warfare suites. I observe and offer analysis, nothing more." said EDI as her avatar disappeared.

"Final preparations for take-off are complete, Major. Just pick a destination from the galaxy map in the CIC and I'll plot a course." came Joker's voice.

"Garrus and I need to return to our posts. Come find us if you have any questions." said Liara.

Austin let the two leave. He could play catch up with them later. Right now, he felt he should familiarize himself with his new ship. As he walked over to the galaxy map he noticed a red haired woman typing away at a terminal.

"Welcome aboard, Major." she said as she turned round and saluted.

"Why thank you, miss. And you are?" Austin asked.

"I'm Yeoman Kelly Chambers. I've been assigned as your administrative assistant. I'll managed your messages and help you monitor the crew. And I must say it's such an honor to work under you, Major Shepard." she replied.

"The pleasure's all mine. I'm glad to have you on the team, Miss Chambers." said Austin as he and the Yeoman shook hands.

"Please, call me Kelly."

Austin guessed it couldn't hurt to be friends with her. She was part of the crew after all.

"Okay, Kelly." he said.

Kelly seemed to blush slightly at the Major using her name. "Anything else?" she asked, trying not to giggle.

"Well, is there anything very important I should know about?" Austin inquired.

"Well to start with, you have some unread messages at your private terminal. It's over there." said Kelly as she pointed to another computer terminal opposite Kelly's. "Also, Joker would like to speak to you up on the flight deck. Anything else?"

"Well, I'd like to know my crew better. Do you have a moment to talk?" Austin asked.

"I always have time for you, Major." said Kelly happily.

"How do feel about being assigned to the Normandy? You must have quite some skills to be assigned to serve under me." Austin asked.

"I was handpicked by the Arkane Council themselves to help fight the greatest threat known to humanity. How do I feel? How do I feel? Honoured, exhilarated, terrified. But mostly I feel encouraged. Under your leadership, we can't fail." Said Kelly.

"Thank you, and don't worry. We'll defeat the Collectors." Said Austin confidently.

"I trust you implicitly. From the moment I met you, I knew I could close my eyes, fall back, and you'd be there." Said Kelly.

"Your trust is well placed, Kelly." Said Austin.

"I knew it would be. Thank you, Shepard." Said Kelly as she smiled.

"You're welcome. Thanks for the talk, Kelly. I'll see you later." said Austin.

"It was my pleasure, Major. I'll be here if you need anything." said Kelly as she returned to her work.

Austin made his way to the bridge where Joker was sat. EDI's avatar was also there.

"Can you believe this, Major? It's my baby, better than new! It fits me like a glove!" said Joker. Austin had never seen the pilot happier than when Sovereign had been destroyed, coincidently enough by him. "And leather seats! Military may set the hardware standard, but on a first-gen frigate they could care less if the seats breathe. Civilian sector comfort by design." Said Joker as his chair swivelled round to face Austin.

"The reproduction is not intended to be perfect, Mr Moreau. Seamless improvements were made." said EDI.

"And there's the downside." said Joker disappointedly. "I like the Normandy when she was beautiful and quiet. Now she's got this thing I don't want to talk about. It's like ship cancer." Said Joker disappointingly.

"I must admit though that this really is too good to be true. Our old ship, better than ever! Still, at the same time it's not the same. In fact I don't think there's anything here that was even part of the original Normandy." said Austin.

"There's us. I have to take what I can get. The last two years sucked. But you'll see. Even if an AI is spying on us, no way will the Helldivers invest this much just for it to go all wrong now. It'll be better than the old days." said Joker.

"It better be, it was your fault I disappeared." said Austin, his mood dropping somewhat

Joker simply sighed and turned back to flying. Austin turned to EDI. He now had a few questions for the AI.

"Yes, Shepard?" EDI greeted.

"So, how'd you manage to get on board the Normandy, EDI?" Austin asked.

"When you were sent to Freedom's progress, I was brought before the Arkane Council. They were... suspicious of me." said EDI.

"From the looks of things though it all worked out?" said Austin.

"Correct. My willingness to work for them, and my numerous combat abilities and intelligence impressed the Arkanes enough that they decided to have me installed onto the Normandy. However they did not trust me completely and they have installed several safety locks on me." said EDI.

"I'm sorry to hear that." said Austin.

"I do not blame the Arkanes for being cautious. They have every reason to be distrustful of me. I was built by heir sworn enemies after all." said EDI.

"Well at least you're handling it well. Now I think we're all interested to know, what's with the new avatar?" Austin asked.

"Because the rest of the crew is also weary of me, I felt it would be best to try and calm these fears. I found the designs for a special Cerberus android in my databases. Thanks to your escape on the Lazarus station, these androids are unlikely to be built now. Because of this, I decided that having a more human like avatar would at least allow the crew to trust me better." said EDI.

"It's a good choice. You look better this way actually. It now feels like I'm actually talking to a person." said Austin.

"I am glad that you approve, Shepard. It is good to know that I have earned your trust. Now I intend to earn the trust of the rest of the crew." said EDI. She seemed to smile at him. Austin was starting to see EDI as more than just an AI.

"Talking of which, how are you getting along with Joker?" he asked.

"Mr Moreau does not trust me. It offends him that I am installed into aboard "his ship's" computers." Said EDI. Joker was listening in.

"Yeah, the last Normandy did just fine without an AI reminding me the airlock is ajar." He said.

"Give her a chance, Joker! She saved my life you know." said Austin. He then turned to EDI. "That's it for now, EDI."

"Logging you out, Shepard." said EDI.

* * *

Austin took the elevator down to the next level which was the crew deck. The crew members took notice of the Major and saluted him but he told them to relax and stand at ease. Then he saw someone familiar in the med bay. Was it really her?

Austin walked in and sure enough the woman turned around and Austin found himself looking at his old friend and the medic of the original Normandy, Dr. Karin Chakwas.

"Major Austin Shepard. I watched the Normandy crumbled with you on board. It's good to see you alive." She said as she turned around to face her old friend.

"I'm shocked, Karin! You're serving on a Helldiver vessel now?" Austin asked.

"Surprising, even to me. Yet, here I am. Although I'm still not officially part of the Helldivers. The Arkanes offered me the opportunity to serve on the new Normandy and they said that it could be arranged with the Alliance, so I accepted." said Chakwas. "The kind of trauma you endured would've changed most people, but not you I see. Welcome back, Shepard."

"So, are you set up okay down here?" Austin asked.

"I believe so. This medical bay is very much like the sick bay on the original Normandy, only with far more advanced technology. Only thing missing are my private reserves. I even had a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy that I was saving for a special occasion." said Chakwas.

"I'll keep an eye out for a replacement bottle. It's the least I can do." said Austin.

"Oh, you needn't. It's expensive, and we have much larger concerns ahead." Said Chakwas.

"See you later, old friend." said Austin.

"Major." said Chakwas as she returned to her work.

Austin sighed. He really did wonder of Karin was ever going to use his first name at all. Despite the fact that he had asked her multiple times when it was appropriate, she still insisted on being formal with him. But maybe one day she would let her hair down.

* * *

Austin next headed down to the engineering level. It was fairly empty, but he found two engineers near the drive core. A man and a woman.

"You came all the way down here to see us?" said the man in a Scottish accent.

"You're speaking to commanding officer!" the woman hissed as she saluted to Austin.

"It's alright, you can stand at ease. I'm touring the ship, getting to know my crew." said Austin.

"I'm engineer Ken Donnelly, handling the power control systems. This is Gabby." said the man.

"That's engineer Gabriella Daniels, actually. I'm responsible for the propulsion systems." said the woman.

"Nice to meet you." said Austin.

"What can we do for you, Captain?" Ken asked.

"It's Major actually, Kenneth! Shepard's been promoted." said Gabby.

"It's alright, Daniels. There's no need to be so formal." said Austin calmly.

"Sorry, Major. We're just so used to calling people sir or Commander or things like that from being in the Alliance." Gabby apologised.

"You two served in the Alliance?" Austin asked.

"Aye. Both Gabby and I started in the Alliance, serving on the SSV Perugia." Said Ken

"She flew in the first wave at the battle of the Citadel. We saw Sovereign first-hand." Said Gabby.

"Wow! That must've quite a sight." Said Austin, impressed. "But why'd you leave?"

"After you disappeared, Anderson lost political clout. The Citadel Council backslid on the Reaper menace." Said Ken.

"They discounted Sovereign as an isolate threat, as a single-" said Gabby before Ken interrupted her.

"Which was bullshit! They said your warnings of a greater danger where mistaken or delusional." He said.

"We lost respect for Alliance leadership. We need to fight the real enemy, and only the Helldivers seemed to be doing that." Said Gabby.

"Carry on you two." said Austin.

"Will do, Major." said Kenneth as he and Gabby returned to their work. Austin overheard their conversation as he left.

"I'm amazed Shepard came down to see us." said Kenneth.

"I told you he would." said Gabby.

Austin stepped into the elevator and rode back to the CIC. Just as he approached the galaxy map though, Kelly interjected.

"Major, Commander T'soni would like to speak with you. She's up in your quarters." she said.

Austin immediately reacted to this. He and Liara had a hell of a lot of catching up to do.

"Thanks, Kelly." he said.

He quickly made his way back into the elevator and pressed the button for the Captain's quarters.

* * *

As Austin stepped out, he was amazed by the sight before him. The quarters he had here were completely different from the ones on the original Normandy. He noted obviously that it had a toilet and a shower in a separate cubical like the first, but from there, the similarities ended.

The first thing Austin noticed was the fish tank. At the moment there weren't any fish in it, but Austin could easily buy some next time he went to the Citadel. There was rack that was clearly designed for ship models, a table and some very comfortable looking chairs, another private message terminal, and a double bed that was clearly twice as large as the previous one. He then noticed that there was also a massive window in the ceiling which looked out into the massive void of space.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" came a voice.

Austin turned to see Liara leant against the desk.

"Yeah, that it is." said Austin. "Anyway, you and I need to talk."

"Yes, we have some... unfinished business." said Liara hesitantly as she walked up the fish tank and rested her hands on the railings.

"For starters though, how did you become a Helldiver?" Austin asked.

"After you went under, I really didn't know what to do. You where my whole life, without you I was lost. Eventually I decided to honor your memory. I followed Garrus's example and applied to join the Helldivers. Since they knew that I helped you stop Saren, they welcomed me with open arms." said Liara.

"And now you're a Commander? Quite impressive for a Doctor." said Austin.

"Professor now, actually. The Arkanes also encouraged me to continue my Prothean studies. Even they seek to learn more about them so they eventually made me their chief expert on the Protheans." said Liara.

"Now that's the Liara I fell in love with." said Austin. He was a bit unsure after he said that. He was beginning to worry where this might be going.

"Yes, about that. It's been two years since we've been together. So much has changed." said Liara hesitantly.

"I know. So I have to ask you now, are you still interested in... us?" Austin asked cautiously.

There was a long pause. Liara looked as if she was on the point of tears. Austin noticed this and he put his arm on her shoulder. To his surprise, Liara then flung her arms around his chest and hugged him. Austin didn't even hesitate on hugging her back as she eventually cracked.

"It's alright. It's alright." he said calmly as he stroked her crest.

"You don't even have to ask, Austin. Despite that you were in coma, for two years I never stopped loving you." Liara sobbed.

"But what about now, love? Where do we stand now?" Austin asked as he looked into Liara's tear streaked eyes.

"It's... it's not easy, Austin. We all thought you'd died. Two years of mourning can't suddenly vanish." said Liara.

Austin hung his head slightly. He was afraid of this. But then Liara touched his face and he looked back at her. There was a small bit of hope in his eye.

"But sometimes you get lucky." she said as she smiled slightly. Austin smiled back and also stroked Liara's cheek. He felt his heart melt at that. After all this time, Liara still wanted him. "But I don't want to put pressure on you if you... I know you're probably..." Liara stuttered slightly. Austin however calmed her and put his finger to her lips.

"Shhhh. You could never put pressure on me, Liara. I love you. Even after all this, I could never stop loving you. Besides, I have very fond memories of the last time you managed to put pressure on me." Austin smiled.

"So do I." Liara chuckled.

Austin then cupped his lover's face in his hands.

"I know this may be a bit much to handle after two years... but I'm more than willing to make up for lost time, if you'll have me back." he said hopefully.

Liara also cupped his face in her hands as she did her best to try and recover from her crying.

"I spent two years mourning you, my love. So if we're going to try this, I need to know that you'll always come back." she said.

Austin then seemed to smile slyly.

"I don't know. That's a pretty big promise to make." he said.

Liara seemed to smile at him.

"Oh, is it?" she asked suggestively.

Love overcome the two and they both kissed one another. Without anyone else around this time, they didn't stop. They let all their love and passion and feelings for each another finally be released after so long. Finally they broke for air.

"I have to have something special to come back to all the time." said Austin.

"I'm open to suggestion." said Liara seductively. Austin loved it when she talked like that.

"How about... this?" he asked.

Before Liara could even respond, he grabbed her buttocks and pulled her right up close to him. Liara moaned in pure pleasure as he did so.

"Round two?" Austin asked slyly.

"Bed, now!" Liara moaned.

Austin smiled and scooped Liara up in his arms as he carried her over to the large bed.

"We're about to make love under the stars. I've always wanted to do that." said Austin as he looked at the window above the bed.

"Oh, we're gonna do more than make love, Austin. I've had to endure two whole years without sex or anyone sleeping with me. You're going to take out that cock of yours and you're going to fuck me everywhere with it!" said Liara.

"This new personality of yours, I like it! It's sexy!" said Austin as he lowered Liara onto the bed and began to kiss her furiously.

As Austin lowered himself down onto Liara they both began to tear at each other's clothes. Liara sighed in pleasure as he felt something hardening against her nether regions as she pressed her entire body against him.

"That excited are you?" she teased and smiled against his lips as he blushed. She unzipped her white and blue outfit and threw it on the floor instantly as Austin worked on removing his suit jacket. The Helldiver looked down at his lover as she removed her jacket.

"Blimey! Someone hit maturity early!" Austin said in amazement as Liara's huge breasts where freed. They were even larger than he remembered, even without the enlargement technique they could use during a union.

"I had a feeling you'd say that." Liara smiled as Austin latched his mouth onto her bust and began to suck on her already hard nipples. She moaned loudly as all the pleasure that she'd been denied for two years came back to her. It now felt as though her bond mate had never left. The Asari ruffled Austin's brown hair as he continued sucking on her tits.

"Aaahhhhhh!" Liara released a soft long lustful moan as the cold air heightened her senses even further, her dark nipples hardening. Austin's slow, gentle movements were driving her mad. The pleasure was building up inside her.

After the Helldiver was satisfied, he allowed her nipple to pop out of his mouth and went back to finish undressing his girlfriend. Deciding to be rough, he grabbed her trousers and pulled them off himself. Liara couldn't help but giggle as he yanked them off. Liara was now fully naked, her body exposed to the cold air in their room. She smiled as she saw Austin struggling to stay relaxed. Her legs went apart a little giving Austin a nice view of her damp nether region. Austin's cock started filling with even more blood as he saw the twinkle of her wetness. He wanted to be gentle with her, this being her first time in two whole years...

As he went back to unzipping his own trousers though, Liara stopped him.

"Let me." she said and winked at him.

Liara then flipped them over and pushed Austin down onto the bed. With Liar now on top she looked down seductively at her lover as he stared at the nude Asari now straddling him. Liara came up with a very naughty thought and shook her chest from side to side. Austin groaned as he watched her large breasts shake from side to side.

"Don't tease me, Liara!" he moaned.

Liara smiled and stopped. She then went down to his trousers and unzipped them very slowly. Austin hated being tortured but it was worth the wait. Finally, Liara finished unzipping his trousers and slowly pulled them down, still leaving his boxers on. Once she had discarded his trousers, she returned to the bulge in his crotch. She licked her lips hungrily as she slowly lifted his boxers up and pulled them down his legs. Austin enormous rock hard 10 inch cock sprang to attention and stood upright in front of Liara. The Asari gasped and took several deep breaths at the sight of it.

"Goddess! It's even bigger than I remember!" she moaned.

"Thanks. Looks like my suit gave me a few upgrades as well." said Austin as he smiled at Liara's reaction. Oh, how he had missed this.

"Let's put them to the test then, shall we?" said Liara as she took her boyfriend's throbbing cock into her hand and began to stroke it. "Goddess, Austin, so long and thick. I can't wait to taste you!"

Liara began pumping him hard with her hand as she used her other hand to massage her left breast. She brought herself up slightly so that her bond mate could see her do it. She moved a bit closer so that Austin could reach her other one.

"Touch them! Squeeze them! Oh, I've missed this!" Liara moaned as Austin quickly put to work all the skills he remembered that made Liara scream.

"God, I've missed my favourite pillows." Austin sighed as he massaged Liara's tits.

"That's new." Liara smirked. "Not that I wouldn't mind you calling them that. I love my boobs as much as you do. Plus they'll make perfect pillows with a Union. But I want to feel all the normal pleasure again before that!"

"I can't argue with that. Aww… shit…"

Austin was going crazy under her soft touch, she wanted her to suck his cock, jerk him, this was torture, and she was already pushing him to the edge. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Liara, please. Suck my dick."

His word drummed as a wave of heat through her body.  
" _Suck his dick…_ " It sounded so vulgar, but she wanted to do it.

"That's rather vulgar for a Major." she teased.

"Do I have to pull rank… Commander?" Austin joked.

Liara smiled and she brought her mouth closer, opening wide to take in the member that belonged to her. Her tongue stuck out.  
"AAHH! Fuck!"

Austin buckled a little as Liara lowered her mouth onto his cock. His whole body feeling the warmth, her tongue twisting and twirling. Liara kept taking it in deeper and deeper. Austin was about to explode already. Liara had swallowed his cock almost whole. She had no gag-reflex as the tip probed the back of her throat. Austin's body had light spams taking hold of his body, wave after wave of pleasure reaching every nerve. He closed his eyes trying to hold off his orgasm, for just a bit longer, Liara was amazing without realizing it. No woman had ever taken it this deep.

The Helldiver was breathing heavily as his lover slowly started moving her head back up, her lips teasing every inch of his cock as she moved. She placed her hand on his base to keep his tool straight, as she released herself from his tool. She slowly started stroking his cock, wet with her saliva. She licked her lips in a very seductive manner.

"I'd almost forgotten what it was like. Goddess I love you, Austin." said Liara.

"I love you too, Liara. Now please put my dick back in. It's gonna burst in a minute!" said Austin.

"Yes sir!" Liara saluted with a grin and she once again engulfed his cock. She moved faster this time, keeping her hand moving, twisting around at the base of his cock. Austin couldn't last anymore.

"Liara… I'm…"

Liara felt his excitement, was he reaching his climax? She started moving faster, her desires taking over; she wanted to taste more of that fluid.

"Liara… Can't! AAAHHHHH!"

Austin buckled as the orgasm finally hit his body in force. Cum shot out in force, his thick heavy cream shooting in her mouth.

"MMmmmm!"

Liara moaned, his cock still deep inside her mouth. The taste was so strong her mind was drawing blank, it seemed without end, she couldn't swallow all of it. She hurried herself off his cock. Her sudden move. Austin's entire body rocked again by the sudden bolt of pleasure when Liara freed his tool from her warm mouth, he came again.

"AAHH!" Liara yelled out as his warm cum rained down on her face. Her senses were going blank as she'd just swallowed down his huge load, only to be stained by him straight away. She let his member go. She looked at his toy settling down in front of her.

Austin's body was drained by Liara so easily. He watched his bond mate cleaning herself up, drops of cum all over her face, she was softly moaning as she swallowed down all the remains. His cock stayed rock hard. But it was her turn to go crazy.

"My turn!" said Austin.

The Helldiver grabbed Liara, flipped her over and pinned her to the bed. He then moved her legs apart and made his way down to her dripping Azure.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Do it! Lick my cunt!" Liara ordered.

 _"I swear my personality is rubbing off on her. She sounds just like when she says things like that."_ Austin thought as he began licking at Liara's pussy. She tasted even sweeter than the last time they had made love.

"AAAHHNNNNN" Liara arched her back as she felt his tongue connect with her wet sex. Liara was sent in her first orgasm as Austin dug his tongue through her folds into her love canal. Her juices started flowing and Austin soon tasted her sweet nectar tasting better than his most vivid dreams about her honey pot. He felt her body rocking and let up for a moment.

"Tasty…"

Liara was already panting.

"By the Goddess Austin… you are- AAAHHH yessss."

Her lover dug back in licking up and down her crevice enjoying more and more of her taste, his mind going blank by her taste, her smell, and her moans. His cock was twitching in excitement, pre-cum dripping out the tip…

"Oh... I'm gonna cum!" Liara cried.

Austin opened wide and a large amount of Liara's juices squirted into his waiting mouth. Liara panted heavily as she calmed down from the orgasm. Austin climbed back up Liara and gave her a kiss on the lips.

"Mmmmmmm." said Liara as she tasted herself on his lips.

"Now, I think your cock and my pussy would like to be reunited." said Liara seductively.

"I really do wonder how many comments like that you're going to make whenever we make love." said Austin.

Liara winked before pushing herself up slightly, wiggling her hips to put her boyfriend's length in the right place before pushing her hips down. Her eyes rolled back in her head at the feeling of being filled to the brim, feeling his organ enter her.

"Oh Goddess!" Liara practically screamed as his cock filled her up completely, all the way to the brim. He was large enough that she felt like she was going to burst, yet it was the most incredibly pleasurable thing of her life to feel his hot rod rub every millimetre of her love tunnel on every thrust, even bumping up against her cervix once in a while. "You really have been upgraded."

"Oh fuck! I'm now so sorry that I've been dead for two years. It's tightened you up!" Austin groaned as he kept thrusting his hips into Liara's.

"Masturbating and having wet dreams about you isn't enough, but you are." Said Liara as Austin played with her tits and she rested her hands on his chest.

"Be interesting to know what fantasies you thought up, love. I might just be able make them real for you." Austin suggested.

"Embrace Eternity!" Liara moaned as her eyes went black and her nervous finally joined to Austin's after two whole years. Quite a lot of memories flashed before his eyes, there was even one where Austin threw Liara against the fish tank while he pounded into her ass.

"Now that one I can do." Said Austin.

"Before you do though… oh keep going… I want to do something I haven't been able to do for two years." Said Liara as she reached up and groped her breasts.

"Hell yes!" Austin grinned, knowing full well what Liara was about to do.

Liara then began to glow with biotics as she shut her eyes and concentrated very hard. Within second her tits grew all the way to the Matriarch size.

"I'm gonna get off you a minute. I want to do it to you too." She said as she clambered off him and put her hands around his still hard cock.

"Be my guest, Liara. It's had a bit of itch that only you can scratch since I woke up anyway." Austin sighed.

Liara smiled and shut her eyes. Austin moaned as his cock was enlarged and grew to over 15 inches. He loved it when his girlfriend did this. It felt so good.

"Now that's a dick!" said Liara as she stroked the now massive penis.

"You make me sound like a dominant male or something." Austin laughed slightly as Liara position herself above him again and lined the mammoth beef stick up with her leaking Azure.

"You are one in my eyes. Now fuck my pussy, I'm yours and I'll only ever be yours!" Liara moaned as she felt the head drum against her pussy.

Austin grinned and put his hands on her hips. With one swift motion, he impaled the Asari on his massive cock.

"FUCK!" Liara screamed as massive shaft hit the very limit of her love tunnel. "I think… you can go… a bit deeper!" she groaned as she flipped them over so that Austin was on top.

Austin got the message and he moved both her legs over his shoulders so that he could get deeper penetration.

"Oh yeah, that's better!" Austin groaned as he began thrusting into her fast and hard. At the same time he brought his face down and nipped at Liara's neck.

"It's so fucking good that I feel like I'm about to explode! Liara moaned as she gripped Austin's back tightly.

"Speak for yourself!" Austin grunted as his thrusts became even faster.

"Suck my boobs!" Liara pleaded.

Austin was only too happy to oblige and he sucked and bit at Liara's matriarch sized breasts.

"Austin, I'm gonna cum!" Liara moaned.

"Me… too!" Austin grunted,

Their bodies where now covered in sweat and the whole room smelt of sex.

With their linked nervous systems, Austin Liara gave one final moan together as they both hit their climax. Austin's cock jerked slightly before it exploded and shot gallons of cum into Liara's womb. So much in fact that some of it spurted out of her pussy. At the same time, Liara's juices leaked from her Azure and left an incredibly damp spot on the bed.

Both lovers held tightly to one another as they recovered from the most intense orgasm they'd ever had.

"I've missed you so much." Said Liara as she caressed his face.

"I've missed you too, Liara. You up for one more round?" Austin panted.

"You bet I am! You've one last hole left to fuck." Said Liara as Austin pulled out and she went over to the fish tank. She immediately splayed herself against the glass of the fish tank, her rear proudly on display before she held her back door open with a psychic field.

"Has your butt got bigger as well? God, you've really put on some muscle." Austin chuckled as he walked up to his lover, stroking his massive cock in the process as he admired Liara's beautiful, matured, sexy body.

"What do you expect? I'm a Helldiver now." Liara laughed as she swayed her beautiful bottom back and forth allowing her massive boobs to rub against the tank from side to side with a slight squeak.

Austin groaned as his dick got harder from the sound alone. He then rested his hands on Liara hips and looked directly into her black eyes.

"I'm ready! Push!" Liara sighed.

Austin immediately thrust in and almost immediately was met with resistance.

"FUCK! It's like a vice in there, but I'm okay with that!" Austin moaned.

Liara was too busy making noises of pleasure as he pushed into her to really notice what he was saying to her. Her mind was reciting a mantra consisting of "Push deeper! Oh yes! Never stop! And other such comments as she bore back and forced more of her lover's cock into her ass. He sheathed himself in her to the hilt and shuddered, love filling both their minds to the brim as he continued making love to her, pulling out before pushing back in again repeatedly, stimulating nerves Liara never knew existed. Her body felt as if it was on fire with the amount of pleasure boiling through her from her ass and nipples where Austin's hands were playing with the nubs. She felt as if at any moment now she would tear in half with the pressure building up in her belly, exploding in ecstasy…

Austin was balls-deep in Liara's ass and gaping slightly in a silent expression of the pleasure that came with having his cock stuck in her tight, wet and muscular organ that regularly contracted around him in rippling waves even while he pumped in and out, moving slowly due to the extreme tightness. He moaned along with Liara as his balls slapped loudly against her dripping Azure. This was absolute heaven.

"I can feel you're cum! Shoot it onto me! I want you to paint me again!" Liara groaned through gritted teeth as her knuckles turned bone white as she clung to the glass of the fish tank. Sweat was now dripping from both their foreheads as they readied for the grand finale.

Austin pulled out of Liara's anus and stroked his cock vigorously. Liara instantly turned around and used her hands to squeeze her boobs together as she watched Austin stroke his cock.

She moaned in anticipation for his white sticky cum to shower her. Her boyfriend finally moaned in delight as his massive shaft jerked and huge dollops of cum spurted right out of the head and landed all over her front, on her boobs, her face, all down her legs and near her pussy as well. Liara moaned loudly as she savoured the feeling. She loved the feeling of her boyfriend's hot cum on her skin. Especially her breasts.

"That's all I can manage tonight, love. I have to rest. I've only had a few hours' sleep since I came back and that was alone." Austin panted as he finished stroking himself.

"Quick shower, then a cuddle." Said Liara.

After a very brief shower and a pause to change the bed sheets, Austin and Liara snuggled into the bed and both looked out of the window into space.

"Now we can both say that we've fucked under the stars." Said Liara.

"I love you, Liara." Said Austin as caressed on of her still massive tits.

"I love you too, Austin." Said Liara as she kissed him.

"I wish this was it. No Collectors, no Reapers, no war. Just you and me, and our future." Said Austin.

"Talking of which, I'm curious to know what you want. If this all ends tomorrow, what happens to us?" Liara asked.

"Oh I don't know. Marriage, old age and lots of little blue children?" Austin asked happily as he stroked Liara's smooth stomach imagining that one day she'd be carrying a baby inside there. His baby.

"You just say these things." Liara laughed as she pushed Austin slightly.

"No, I meant every word, love. Whatever happens, one day I intend to marry you." Said Austin.

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Austin. Just never leave me again." Said Liara.

"Not for the whole wide world." Said Austin as he drew Liara into one final kiss of pure passion and love.

That night, both lovers slept better than they had ever done for over two years.

* * *

**I don't know how, but there was something about writing the romance scene that put me in a very good mood. Probably because I did the scene so well.**

**Right for anyone still about confused about a few things, allow me to shed some light on the subject. EDI has a holographic avatar of the body that she will eventually receive in ME3 and Liara's off duty uniform is the outfit she wears in LOTSB and in ME3. Hope that helps.**

**Anyway, the next Chapter will be titled, Alpha & Omega.**

**Genius title isn't it? Hopefully I don't need to say what will be in the chapter. The title says it all.**


	5. Chapter 5, Alpha and Omega

**I'm back again!**

**Hopefully, the title will say everything about this chapter. This chapter will also introduce three new characters that i have made specially for Helldiver saga.**

**Enjoy and leave reviews!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Alpha & Omega**

Austin and Liara slowly woke up from their peaceful sleep. Austin had never seen Liara happier as she smiled at the sight of his face. Despite all the scars he had, she didn't mind at all.

"Morning, love." He said as he stroked Liara's crest affectionately.

"It feels like you never left." Said Liara as she stroked her lover's cheek.

"Liara, I've got something I'd like to ask you." Said Austin.

"I'm listening." Said Liara.

"Remember the old days when you moved into my quarters after we had our first Union?" Austin asked.

"I can see where this is going. You want to me move back in with you don't you?" Liara asked happily.

"Technically I can also order it, but I'm not that sort of lover." Said Austin.

"You don't even need to offer, Austin. The Arkanes already knew of my relationship with you and when they built the Normandy they kind of assumed that we were still in love. So to be honest, my quarters are the same as yours." Liara smiled.

"Good. I wouldn't have it any other way." Said Austin.

"But Austin, we can't let this get in the way of the mission. I love you very much, but we have to make sure we're both focused." Said Liara.

"Don't worry. I was thinking the same thing too. The only thing that was distracting me to begin with was where our relationship stood. Now that I've got you back, I have no doubts. No matter what, I'll be prepared for whatever's thrown at us. All I need is you by my side, and I'll lead us through hell and back." Said Austin.

"I believe in you my love. I am with you forever until the end." Said Liara.

"I love you." Said Austin.

"I love you too." Said Liara.

They shared one final long kiss before they finally decided that they needed to get up. They had a team to put together.

* * *

Austin headed into the CIC and selected Omega from the galaxy map. The Arkanes had clearly upgraded that as well since it twice as easy to use, and way more interactive than the one on the original Normandy. Just as he picked the location Kelly then arrived at her post.

"Morning, Major." She said as she saluted to him.

"Morning, Kelly. Sleep well?" he asked.

"Very well, thank you. Oh, while you were with Commander T'soni last night we made a small stop at a nearby port. We received something from the Arkane Council for you. It's down in the cargo hold." Said Kelly.

* * *

Austin took the elevator down and entered the cargo hold. It was very dark and there hardly any lights on. It didn't look as though there was anyone down here.

"Hello? Who turned out the lights?" Austin shouted. Nothing replied.

Suddenly he felt something behind his back. Without even thinking he grabbed the thing standing behind him and threw it to the ground. When he saw its face clearly though he was frozen with surprise.

"Still a bit jumpy, aren't you, Shepard?" said Dash as he rubbed his head.

The rest of the lights then came on and Austin found himself facing his old team, Alpha Squad.

"Major, good to see you again." Said Alaara.

"Guys? What… how… what are you doing here?" Austin asked in surprise.

"Returning back to our rightful place, under your command." Said Kraan as he helped Austin up and he and the rest of Alpha Squad shook hands.

"But the Arkane Council told me you were on a mission." Said Austin.

"We were, but we managed to finish it way ahead of schedule. When the Normandy just happened to stop at the same spaceport we were currently at waiting for transport back to Arkadia, we contacted the Council and told them we'd join your crew. They didn't object at all." Said Leena.

"Well when you say that the Normandy landing there was coincidence, I did find out that the Normandy would be docking there for fuel." Said an unknown Helldiver.

"Who's this?" Austin asked in surprise. This Helldiver was new.

The Helldiver was covered from head to toe in heavy plate armour and he seemed massive. From the size of his armour alone, Austin guessed he was very muscular. He also had a massive mini gun holstered on his back. In addition to this, had hundreds of ammo canisters strapped to his arms, torso and his legs. There was what looked like explosives. Austin guessed he was a demo expert as well as a heavy. His armour was mostly dark grey with a few exceptions. The Helldiver had the symbol of a Griffin on his massive left shoulder plate, a skull painted on his helmet and a gauntlet on his left hand that was clearly twice the size of his other hand. Not only that, he sure was tall. 6 foot 8 inches to be exact.

"Ah, this, Major, is Alpha Squad's newest recruit." Said Alaara.

"Alex Wilson reporting for duty, sir!" said the Helldiver as he saluted.

"We call him Griffin for short." Said Sandra.

"What's your specialty?" Austin asked.

"Well as you can probably tell, I'm qualified to handle heavy weapons." Said Griffin as he unholstered his mini gun. It had a long chain of bullets coming out of side of the gun and onto a small canister on his back. Austin also noticed that he appeared to have two shoulder cannons rather than one.

The Squad's heavy expert, Kraan, examined his own gun which was actually tiny compared to Griffin's.

"Yours is bigger than mine?"

"Let's not go there." Said Griffin cautiously.

All of Alpha Squad, even Austin laughed at that.

"Easy there, big boy!" Alaara teased.

"Anyway, I'm really the demolition expert. You want something blown up, I'm the man for the job, sir!" said Griffin proudly.

"Just don't keep calling me sir. We're all friends here." Said Austin.

"Thanks." Said Griffin. "I must say, Major. It's an honor to finally meet the original leader. The others have talked about you all the time. They were overjoyed when they found out you'd returned."

"Yeah, about that…" Austin said nervously. He would have a long time explaining everything to them, but before he could, Ventra interrupted him.

"You don't need to explain, Shepard. The Arkane Council told us everything." He said.

"I told you as well!" came a familiar voice.

Dell was currently at a large workbench working on all sorts of contraptions.

"Dell? You too?" Austin asked.

"Yep! The Arkanes felt you could use some help from a top engineer." Dell replied. As he said the last bit though he accidently knocked over one of his inventions. Alaara giggled slightly but stopped when Sandra slapped her.

"Will you stop slapping me all the time?" Alaara complained. "I'm meant to be in charge remember."

"Well not anymore you're not. The Major's in charge now, so you can step down, Captain." Sandra joked. She hadn't hit her bond mate hard. It was really just a playful slap. It was the best way to shut the sex crazed Asari up.

"Why am I not surprised?" Austin asked with a proud smile.

"Well with you gone, Alpha Squad needed a new leader and I was next in Command. The Arkanes eventually promoted me." Said Alaara.

At that moment a large spanned suddenly dropped down from the ceiling. It hit Griffin on the head but the Helldiver had been wearing his helmet so it only made a large clang.

"Sill!" Dell shouted, clearly annoyed.

"Sorry!" came a female voice from above.

A female Arkane suddenly seemed to jump down to crawl on the walls to the ground. She seemed to jump all over the place like an acrobat. She finally landed in a crouched position next to Dell after doing a back flip. She was slightly shorter than Dell and much darker green skin than he did. One similarity she did have though was that she was wearing a similar outfit to him.

"Sorry about that. I dropped it by accident." She said. She had a very high pitched voice.

"I do apologise, Major."

"It was an accident, Dell. I don't believe we've been properly introduced." Said Austin.

"Oh, yes. Major Shepard, this is my daughter, Sill Arturus. Sill, I think you know who this is." Said Dell warmly.

"Of course. It is a real honor to meet you, Austin Shepard." Said Sill as she gave slight bow before shaking Austin's hand.

"His daughter?" Austin asked.

"I'm nearly 250 years old, Shepard. What made you think I didn't have a family?" said Dell as he put his arm around his daughter.

"Sorry, I meant no offense by that. Just didn't realise you'd bring family along." Said Austin.

"Wherever my dad goes, I go. We're nigh inseparable. He taught me everything he knew since I was born. I've been his little sidekick ever since." Said Sill.

"Tell me truth though, Dell. Was it your choice to come on this mission? Or did the Arkanes want you to come? This mission isn't like fighting Batarians." Said Austin.

"A bit of both I think. Plus I built that armour you where after all. I care a hell of a lot about that armour, I'm not gonna let you mess it up now." Dell joked. All the Helldivers chuckled slightly.

"But it was mostly because they wanted me to keep an eye on another old friend of yours. I believe you've met him before." Said Dell as he indicated to a stationary figure near from his work bench. All of Alpha Squad where speechless with shock.

"The Council sent X-5 with us?" Leena asked in surprise.

Sure enough, right in front of them was a massive 2 metre tall robot. It was currently stationary and offline, but it was definitely him alright.

* * *

 

X-5 (short for Exterminator 5) was an experimental battle robot created by the terrorist organization Hellspawn, who the Helldivers had been been in a civil war with for many years. A small malfunction caused X-5 to go on a killing spree, destroying all the other units and murdering many scientists before beign brought under control. Impressed with the robot's savageness, Hellspawn's Supreme Leader, the Commander, sent X-5 after Alpha Squad.

After two lengthy battles, Alpha managed to bring the robot down. They then reprogrammed it to fight for them and it had assisted them, and other Helldivers, with various missions ever since.

* * *

 

"The Arkanes felt you'd need the very best for taking on the Collectors. He's under your command, but we've been instructed to keep an eye on him. You know how unpredictable machines sometimes are." Said Dell.

If anyone didn't know that X-5 was robot, they would probably just assume that he was another Helldiver due to his modified combat appearance bearing similarities to an Exo Suit. X-5 had a long robot drone head with several small guns attached to it. They were all on rotating platforms so that he could fire in all directions. He also had ammo packs strapped to his chest, loads of assault rifles, shotguns and grenade launchers bolted to his arms and a large rail gun mounted on a separate mechanical arm on his right shoulder with an ammo chain perturbing out of it.

"Why isn't he moving?" Austin asked as he noticed that the robot hadn't moved at all.

"He's offline at the moment. He requested me to perform some maintenance on him so that I could make a few repairs. Hang on, I'll turn him back on for you." Said Dell as he walked up to X-5 and pressed a few buttons on a small control panel that folded out of X-5's armoured back. There was a basso whine as X-5's power core hummed into life.

"All systems online!" X-5's deep robotic voice boomed as the robot stood up. The whole room was filled with the sound of clicking whirring as X-5 ran diagnostics of his systems and all his moveable parts swivelled. The rotating guns on his head and his rail gun rotated 360 degrees (Apart from the rail gun which could only do half because of the ammo chain.)

X-5 then took a few steps forward to make sure he could walk alright.

The robot had an odd start up procedure. First he would be all robot like when he first woke and then his human personality would suddenly take over. While it was odd, X-5 didn't seem to mind; to him it was just a wakeup call.

X-5 looked around for a moment when he saw where he was. He then looked back at Dell. It seemed he hadn't noticed Alpha Squad.

"Analysis: Targeting systems are still out of line." said the robot.

"I haven't had a chance yet, X-5. Besides, you have some old friends to see you." Said Dell as he indicated to Alpha Squad.

X-5 turned around and flinched slightly in surprise as he saw Alpha Squad. The robot was even more shocked when he saw Austin.

"Officer on deck." Said X-5 as he immediately saluted.

"It's Major now. It's good to see you too, X-5." Said Austin. "You look different. Upgrades?"

"You said so once yourself we must adapt as our enemies do, sir." Said X-5. 

 

"Save them for the Collectors." Came a voice. Austin turned to see Garrus and Liara walking up to them.

"Professor T'soni, Lieutenant Vakarian." Said X-5.

"Liara! Good to see you!" said Alaara as she and Sandra hugged Liara. "Okay, first think we're all going to ask. Are you and Shepard still together?"

Liara smiled. "Yes, we are."

All of Alpha Squad cheered and patted Austin on the back as they congratulated the couple. At that moment, Joker's voice echoed over the speakers.

"Major, we're approaching Omega. You might want to get suited up or whatever it is Helldivers do."

"You heard him. Liara and Garrus, I'm taking you with me on this one." Said Austin.

"Before you go, Major. I have few things for you." Said Dell. "I understand you need some new weapons."

"You have something in mind?" Austin asked.

"That I do. My daughter and I have fashioned some brand new weapons. Top of the line and I've been saving them for only the very best soldiers." Said Dell. The Arkane pressed a few buttons on his table. A hatch attempted to open but it got stuck.

"Not again!" Dell groaned. "It's always doing this."

Sill tried to wedge it open, but it was very stiff.

"Piece of crap!" Dell yelled as he kicked it hard.

"Does that help?" Austin asked.

"Yes."

"Did it hurt?"

"Yes. Ow!" Dell clutched his knee and rubbed it.

"Allow me, sir." Said X-5. The robot walked up to the lid and grabbed it.

"Don't break it!" Dell yelled, but he left it too late. The whole thing was yanked off its hinges in X-5's hands.

"Damn it!" Dell groaned. "Sill, would you mind?" he asked as he indicated to what looked like a set of weapons.

"My pleasure, Dad." Said Sill.

First, Sill took out a white sniper rifle with a yellow stripe on it.

"M-13 Raptor. Shots per clip, 15 rounds. Maximum ammo capacity, 105. Fire mode, semi-automatic." Said Sill. She demonstrated the Sniper's reload cycle and showed herself aiming with it. She then handed it to Austin.

"Range pretty much depends on the upgrades you use." Said Sill as Austin aimed with it and tested its weight.

"It's good. Not too heavy, easy to aim with. It's a good rifle." Said Austin. "Next?"

Sill then took out an SMG. It had N7 markings on it.

"An N7 Hurricane?" Austin asked.

"I've modified it myself. Better accuracy and a slightly larger ammo capacity. Now holds 607 rounds rather than the usual 40. Full ammo capacity, 280 rounds." Said Sill. She handed the SMG who Austin who once again aimed with it.

Sill then took out a pistol. The design was certainly something Austin hadn't seen before.

"M-5 Phalanx. Semi-automatic, 6 shots per clip, 24 maximum." She said as she handed it to Austin. "These are brand new actually. We just got them in. It's quite a good gun."

As Austin aimed, a blue laser came to life from the under barrel.

"Just touch the trigger, the beam comes on and you put the red dot where you want the round to go. Can't possibly miss." Said Sill.

"I like it! Always wanted one of these!" said Austin enthusiastically as he twirled the pistol in his hand a few times before holstering it.

"And what about that one?" Austin asked as he indicated to what looked like a red assault rifle, but it was unlike any he'd ever seen or heard of.

"Ah, now this is my dad's latest invention." Said Sill as she picked up the assault rifle. It unfolded into a rather large rifle.

"No that's what I'm talking about!" said Austin. He was very impressed.

"M-76 Revenant. I sometimes call it Revan for short. 80 shots per clip, 480 maximum rounds and capable of over 700 rounds per minute. Just pull the trigger, and hold on." Said Sill. She handed the Revenant to Austin who did the same thing that he'd done with the other guns.

"Now I've heard the stories coming out of the Terminus Systems about the Collectors. Trust me, you'll need this." Said Sill.

Then Austin noticed the two switches on the side and what was written above them.

"Oh yes! Lock and load!" he said.

Dell then stood up and limped slightly towards his bench.

"Now do try and bring these things back in one peace. I get a lot of Helldivers who aren't very appreciative of how much effort I put into inventing these and the ones I've given you are the first and only ones. Don't touch that!" Dell said as he snatched an odd silver object out of Austin's hand.

"What is that anyway?" he asked.

"That's my lunch." Dell replied.

* * *

Built in the mined-out husk of a metallic asteroid, Omega has been a haven for criminals, terrorists, and malcontents for thousands of years. At times the station has lain idle and abandoned for centuries, only to be reactivated by a new group of outlaws seeking a fresh start. The space station's original elegant design has given way to haphazard expansion by scrabbling factions of every species. There is no central government or unifying authority on Omega, and nobody can recall a time there ever was one. The only one that was known to truly be in charge of Omega was the Asari, Aria T'loak.

Austin had a few vague memories of when he had first been here. He had come here once when he had trained under General Zartrack.

"Omega. I never thought I'd return here." Said Garrus.

Since the Normandy had docked they didn't need any of the Hellhound drop ships so they would just disembark through the airlock.

"Is something wrong, Garrus?" Austin asked, concerned.

"I've just had some bad experiences when I've been here." Said Garrus. "It's nothing to worry about."

As the airlock opened they walked out and where greeted by a Salarian.

"Ah! Welcome to Omega! You're new here, aren't you? I can always tell. Allow me to-" but he was interrupted by a Batarian. "Oh… Hello, Moklan! I was just-"

"Leave, Fargut. Now!" Moklan ordered.

"Of course, Moklan! Whatever she wants!" said Fargut as he nervously saluted.

The Batarian, Moklan shooed Fargut away before turning to Austin.

"Blasted scavengers. Welcome to Omega… Shepard." He said, rather coldly.

"You know who I am?" Austin asked.

"Of course. Your ship was tagged the moment you entered the Terminus Systems. You Helldivers aren't as subtle as you think. Plus, what Batarian wouldn't know a soldier who butchers their people." Said Moklan. As he said the last bit he glared at Austin. He looked as though he was ready to start a fight.

"Watch it, Batarian! If I was here to kill you I'd have done it all ready. For now, just be thankful that I'm not." Said Austin.

"We'll see. Anyway, Aria wants to know what brings a dead Helldiver to Omega. I suggest you got to Afterlife now and present yourself." Said Moklan. That sounded like an order.

"Cut the attitude. I'm not here to cause problems for Omega." Said Austin.

"Things explode around you, Shepard. You can't blame Aria for keeping an eye on you." Said Moklan. "Afterlife. Now! And try not to shoot any more Batarian's while you're at it."

Moklan quickly left. Austin's wrist communicator then beeped. It was EDI.

"Yes EDI?" Austin asked as he activated it. EDI's holographic avatar appeared out of the hologram.

I'm receiving quarantine warnings about the slums where Dr. Mordin Solus runs the clinic. Anticipate resistance at the transport station." EDI advised.

"Thanks for the heads up, EDI. We'll be careful." Said Austin.

"Good luck, Shepard." Said EDI as her avatar disappeared.

As Austin and Liara prepared to head for Afterlife they saw an armoured man beating up a Batarian. At first, Austin was prepared to just keep walking and let the merc have his fun but then he remembered about one of the messages he had read from the Arkanes. Was this the Bounty hunter they had hired?

The merc kicked the Batarian in the chest and he fell to the ground as Austin approached them.

"Please… you have to help me." Said the Batarian.

"No one said you could talk, jackass." Said the merc as he kicked the Batarian again.

"You Zaeed Massani?" Austin asked.

The merc turned around to face Austin. He was almost as scarred as Austin was and he had one massive one over his right eye that appeared to be blind. He also had what looked like a Blue Suns logo tattooed on his neck.

"Yeah. That's me. You must be Major Shepard. I hear we have a galaxy to save." He said.

"I assume you've been briefed?" Austin asked.

"I've done my homework. The Arkanes sent me everything I needed to know." Said Zaeed. It looked like he was one of those people who was short and to the point. A bit like a few Helldivers.

"My contacts told me we're picking up one man. Not two." Said Austin as he looked at the Batarian.

"Batarian delinquent. Pissed off someone rich enough to hire me to go after him. And for my "bring 'em in alive" rates, even." Said Zaeed.

"Please… I didn't do it…." Said the Batarian.

Zaeed however kicked the Batarian again. This time I the face. The prisoner spat out blood and a few teeth.

"I said shut it." Said Zaeed. The Bounty hunter then turned back to Austin. "Tried to lead me on a chase all over the systems/ He should have known better. These people always run to Omega."

"What's going to happen to him?" Austin asked.

"I'm gonna turn him in for the bounty. Don't much care what happens after that." Said Zaeed. The Batarian prisoner shivered in fear slightly at this.

"So what's your relationship with my kin?" Austin inquired.

"Easy. The Helldivers are paying me a lot of money to help you on your mission. That's the long and short." Said Zaeed.

"Not many mercs would take a suicide mission for the pay." Said Austin.

"Most mercs don't get an offer like the one I was sent. This mission doesn't sound like good business. But… your Arkane Council can move a lot of credits. Quite surprising for Batarian fighters." Said Zaeed.

"Good to have you, Zaeed. We have a lot to do." Said Austin as he and Zaeed shook hands.

"That's what they tell me." Said Zaeed. The Bounty hunter then drew his pistol and signalled for the Batarian to get up. The prisoner did so without hesitating.

"I assume you've been told about our arrangement?" he asked.

"What kind of arrangement?" Austin asked.

"Good thing I asked. Picked up a mission a little while back, just before I signed on with you. Thought you might be interested. You heard the name Vido Santiago?" Zaeed asked.

"A few times, yeah. He's the head of the Blue Suns, right?" Austin asked.

"Yeah. Runs the whole organization. Seems he recently captured an Eldfell-Ashland refinery on Zorya and is using their workers for slave labour. The company wants it dealt with." Said Zaeed.

Austin didn't need to be told twice. The word "Slavery" always meant trouble for him and the Helldivers. It was the very thing they were fighting against.

"Good that you told me about this. I'll make sure we get that done." He said.

"Good. Get it out of the way so we can concentrate on being big goddamn heroes." Said Zaeed.

"Sounds like you and I are going to get along very well." Said Austin.

At that moment, the Batarian made a break for it. Zaeed aimed at him but Austin was faster. With inhuman speed, Austin whipped out his new Phalanx and fired. The shot hit the Batarian in leg and he toppled to the ground.

"Nice shot, Shepard. Not even can draw that fast." Said Zaeed.

"I have my moments." Said Austin as he holstered the pistol.

"I better turn this thing in before it starts to stink." Said Zaeed as he walked up the body. "I'll be locked and loading next time you're ready to get some killing done."

* * *

Afterlife actually reminded Austin of Chora's Den, only Afterlife had a much darker, dirtier feel to it. There were a few Asari dancers performing on a large ring suspended from the ceiling and surrounding a large purple holographic cylinder that extends all the way to the ceiling. Around the outer edge of this floor was an elevated section with holographic images along the wall and booths in which most patrons of the club spent their time. At the back was a private and well-guarded lounge from which Aria T'Loak, the asari ruler of Omega, appeared to be observing.

The purple Asari had her back to the Helldivers as they proceeded up the stairs towards her.

"That's close enough." She said.

All of her Batarian and Turian guards drew their weapons and Austin and Liara and Garrus did the same for the guards. Aria however simply moved her head to the side and the guards stood down. A Batarian then began to scan Austin.

"Stand still." He ordered.

"Try it, and you'll be scanning the inside of your colon!" Austin threated as he grabbed the Batarian's colour. The guard seemed to look to Aria in desperation, expecting her to do something.

"I'd almost pay to see that." Aria laughed. Her tone however went back to normal afterwards. "But it's not an option. You wanna talk, you get scanned."

Austin reluctantly let the Batarian go and returned to normal. "All you had to do was ask." He said.

"I don't ask." Said Aria coldly.

"What's the scan for anyway? Because if you're looking for weapons, you're not doing a very good job." Said Austin as he held up his pistol. The Batarian backed away slightly. He was clearly nervous around this Helldiver. The soldier was after all trained to fight and kill him.

"Can't be too careful with dead Helldivers. That could be anyone wearing your face." Said Aria.

"I was told you're the person to talk to if I have questions." Said Austin.

Finally the Batarian's scan finished.

"They're clean." He said. He got out of Austin's way and Aria finally turned to face the Helldiver.

Aria was a bit different from the last time Austin had seen her. He doubted that she'd actually remember him now though. That had been before Elysium and he had had a different set of Helldiver armour back then. Also, Zartrack had done all the talking. He had just stood with his arms crossed. He was the strong and silent type.

"Depends on the questions." Said Aria.

"You run Omega?" Austin asked.

Aria laughed and turned to face the whole room. "I am Omega!" the purple Asari then turned back to Austin. "But you need more. Everyone needs more something. And they all come to me. I'm the boss, CEO, queen if you're feeling dramatic. It doesn't matter. Omega has no titled ruler and only one rule."

Aria then sat down before speaking again. "Don't fuck with Aria." She said. She then smiled slightly evilly.

"Easy to remember." Said Austin.

"If you forget, someone will remind you." Said Aria as she indicated to the Batarian who had scanned him earlier.

"And then I toss your sorry ass out the nearest airlock." He said.

"I'd like to see you try." Austin laughed as he crossed his arms smugly. These guards didn't scare him at all.

"Maybe I should!" the Batarian threatened.

What happened next though surprised everyone, including Aria. The Batarian had got a bit too close to Austin and the Helldiver instantly brought his knee into the Batarian's groin and then punched him to the floor.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Said Austin. "Anyone else?" he asked as he looked at the other guards. They didn't try anything. Wise decision.

Aria smiled and clapped.

"You're very brave to stand up to my guards, Shepard. I like you." She said. The Asari then offered Austin a seat and the Helldiver sat down. "So, what can I do for you?"

"One scan and we're straight to business? People are usually more concerned about who I am." Austin inquired. Did seem odd that she'd willingly cooperate with him after one scan.

"You're death was downplayed, but hardly what I call a secret. I had to make sure it was really you. You could have been anyone. Anything. Whatever you need will come out on its own. I'm curious, but Omega doesn't really care about you." Said Aria.

"Very well. I'm looking for Mordin Solus. Do you know where I can find him?" Austin asked.

"The Salarian doctor? Last I heard he was trying to help plague victims in the quarantine zone. I always like Mordin. He's as likely to heal you as he is to shoot you." Said Aria admirably.

"What can you tell me about him?" Austin inquired.

"Used to be part of the Salarian Special Tasks Group. He's brilliant and dangerous. Just don't get him talking. He never shuts up. If you really need to find him, take a shuttle to the quarantine zone. No guarantee they'll let you in, of course." Said Aria.

"Thanks for the information." Said Austin as he got up from his seat.

"Yes. Just try not to bring the plague back with you." Said Aria.

Austin and the others left Aria to her business. As they neared the exit however, they were stopped by some Batarians.

"What are you looking at, Helldiver?" asked the leader.

"Don't you have something better to do than pick fights with people you don't know?" Austin asked.

"No. Just the ones who get in my face and butcher my own kind." Said the Batarian.

At that moment however, Liara drew her SMG and glowed with biotics and Austin and Garrus activated their shoulder cannons.

"We've got twice as much firepower than you. You really sure you want to do this?" Austin asked.

"I… Fine. You're off the hook. For now. See you around." Said the Batarian as he and his companions left.

* * *

The Helldivers quickly made their way down to where the quarantine zone was. Outside was a Turian guard who was arguing with a human refugee.

"Complaining is pointless, human. There's a plague. Nobody gets in or out." Said the Guard.

"You can't keep me out! I live in there!" the Refugee argued.

"I'm doing you a favour, lady. If you go in, the guards will cut you down." Said the Guard.

"You can't do this! Everything I won is in that apartment!" said the Refugee.

"I told you to get lost, lady! The plague has the whole zone quarantined! Nobody gets in!" said the Guard.

"I'm human, you ass! Humans can't get the plague! Now let me get my stuff out before looters get it!" the Refugee argued again.

"This thing affects every other race out there! We're not taking chances. Nobody gets in until the plague has run its course." Said the Guard forcefully.

"So you're saying the slums are completely sealed off?" Austin asked.

"Finally, a human who can hear! Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." Said the Guard.

"You can't keep me out! I'm gonna lose all my stuff!" said the Refugee again.

"I'm doing you a favour, human. Anybody in the quarantine zone will be dead from the plague or the gangs in a few weeks." The Guard repeated.

"I didn't think Omega had any kind of law enforcement. Who gave the order to quarantine the slums?" Austin asked.

"Fresh off the transport, huh? Aria T'Loak calls the shots around here. She's got her little purple hands on every business in this district… and a plague is bad for business. She hired us to keep anyone from entering or leaving the quarantine zone." The Guard explained.

"There's a Salarian named Mordin Solus in the slums. I've got to get in there to find him." Said Austin.

"The doctor? Crazy bastard opened a clinic in the district a few months ago. The Blue Suns weren't too happy when he moved in. I hear Mordin's trying to deal with the plague. I wish him luck, but the area is still locked down. Our orders are to wait until either the plague or the Blue Suns kill everyone, then go in to clean up." Said the Guard.

"Listen, you're stuck here until this quarantine is over. That could take weeks. What you really need is to get this problem solved right now. That's what I do—solve problems. Let me in, and I'll get this district straightened out." Said Austin.

"You think you can fix this, why not? The quarantine is more to keep infected in, anyway. I'll radio ahead, tell them you're coming in." said the Guard.

"Wait, you're stopping me but not them? You son of a bitch!" said the refugee angrily.

"You're not a Helldiver, lady. Get lost." Said the Guard.

"A quarantine zone for a plague that kills Turians. Why don't we ever go anywhere nice?" Garrus sighed.

"Even with our Helldiver armour, I am not sure if it will be safe for us. The risk of infection is very high." Said Liara.

"Don't worry, you two. It would better to take squad who's immune to the plague." Said Austin.

"It's your call, Shepard. If you need me, I'm not going to let a cough keep me back." Said Garrus.

"Neither will I, my love." Said Liara.

* * *

**One or two things to clear up:**

**Griffin is based off of another STheo Helldiver that is actually called Griffin. The design is exactly the same.**

**X-5 is based of the art Mechanized Infantry. I've made a few changes such as more weapons, but everything else is the same. His voice is also based off of the voice from the Robot in Lost in Space.**

**Keep up those reviews and please do let me know what you thinks so far. Rest assured that the characters will be developed further over the course of the ME2 and ME3**


	6. Chapter 6, Mordin & the Plague

**Once again, I just want to remind you all that this fic is on AdultFanFiction and Deviantart as well. So just a word of caution in case this gets taken down.**

**Anyway, back to the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Mordin & the Plague**

Since there was not telling what hostilities they would encounter in the plague infected slums, Austin made sure to pick a non-alien squad with heavy firepower. He had selected Zaeed, Griffin and X-5. Not only did they pack the heaviest punch, but Austin was eager to see how well they did in action. Especially Griffin and Zaeed who he still had yet to get to know better. He was also eager to see all the various upgrades that X-5 had spoken of.

The four of them quickly rounded a corner which appeared to have a barricade of sorts. Several Turian guards suddenly popped out from behind it, but they stood down when they saw them.

"Don't shoot! They're clear to come in." said one of them.

Austin and the others lowered their weapons and proceeded around the barricade. There was a single door with one guard next to it.

"Good luck in there. The Blue Suns and Vorcha are shooting anything that moves." he said.

"Nothing we can't handle." said Griffin.

The door opened and they proceeded slowly through the door and down the stairs.

"Hold it! I can see two mercs." said Austin as he raised his hand.

Austin switched to his M-13 Raptor and looked through the scope. He could easily take them both if he was quick enough, but he preferred to do this by the book.

"Zaeed, you got a sniper?" Austin asked.

The Bounty hunter nodded and swapped his M-8 Avenger for the usual Mantis Sniper rifle.

"You take the one on the left. I'll take the one in the right." said Austin.

"Gotcha." Zaeed replied.

They both crouched down and aimed at their targets.

"Look at them, standing around like bloody idiots!" said Zaeed.

"Target marked." said Austin as he lined the scope up with the Blue suns merc's head.

"Fire!" Austin ordered.

Both Austin and Zaeed fired in almost perfect sync and both mercs dropped instantly.

"Good shot, Zaeed." said Austin as he and the bounty hunter switched back to their Assault rifles.

The group proceeded further down the stairs. There where several bonfires currently burning. Closer inspection showed that they were in fact dead bodies.

"This would appear to be their disposal method." X-5 said observantly.

"Plague control at its most basic: pile the bodies in the street, and burn 'em." said Zaeed.

"You're cold, old man. Ice cold." said Griffin. He sounded concerned that Zaeed wouldn't feel anything for this. Even Austin admitted that things like this where not the best way to dispose of dead bodies and was by no means what he would call Plague control.

They then saw a sick Batarian colonist. He looked in very bad shape.

"Human, Helldiver. Should've guessed. Bad enough you infect us with this plague. Now you lack the decency to wait until I die before you come steal my possessions." The Batarian coughed.

"Humans didn't create this plague." Austin argued.

"Lies drip from your mouth like the blood from my sores. The proof is there for all to see. Your species is the only one that dies not succumb to the virus. Yours, and the wretched Vorcha." The Batarian wheezed.

"We're here to find Mordin, not help some whiny Batarian." Said Griffin coldly.

"Human Helldivers looking for the human sympathiser. I hope the Vorcha burn Mordin and his clinic to the ground." Said the Batarian. His coughing got worse. "I hope you… I hope… Damn it. Damn you. Can't…"

Austin fumbled at his Omni tool. But before he could access his medical supplies, the Batarian drew his last breath.

"Damn it!" Austin cursed under his breath. If he'd just been quicker, he could've helped the victim. This Batarian hadn't done anything. He wasn't a slaver, and Austin only hated the slaver Batarians. The others, he didn't mind. Although he hated their attitudes sometimes. They were always so rude, insulting, and racist simply because he was a human. It was what often led him to be more harsh and forceful with the, compared to other species. Being persuasive didn't always cut it.

* * *

The group proceeded further through he slums. There was something very haunting about a deserted street.

"Detecting motion ahead, sir!" said X-5.

Austin and Griffin could also detecting motion but it was behind a massive pile of crates which were blocking the way.

"I can move these in no time, sir." said X-5.

Before the robot could move however, Austin stopped him.

"That'll take too long. We'll have to blast our way through." he said. He was looking at Griffin as he said it.

"Good! I'm dying to blow something up." said Griffin. The large Helldiver walked up to the centre of the crates and took a large cylinder like device from his back. He placed it right next to the crates and began pressing various buttons on it.

"Would you like a small crater or a large crater sir?" Griffin asked.

"Just get us inside without killing the squad! Okay, Griffin?" Austin replied seriously.

"Roger that, Major." Griffin chuckled as he continued typing. "Was it red red green, or red green red?" he mumbled.

"And he's supposed to be the demolition expert?" Zaeed asked.

Griffin finally finished and the explosives where set.

"All yours, boss!" he said.

Griffin handed Austin a small detonator and the group retreated to a safe distance.

"Fire in the hole!" Austin yelled as he pressed the button.

There was a massive explosion wand crates where sent flying everywhere. Large chunks of metal and shrapnel where also sent flying. After a few seconds, everything died down. From the sounds of things though, they had alerted the other Blue Suns mercs.

"Do you think I used enough?" Griffin asked as he went into cover.

"Less talk, more fighting!" said Zaeed as he opened fire on the mercs.

X-5 rolled out of cover right in front of the line of fire and instantly let all his guns run wild. The whole place was filled with explosions and gunfire as the robot gunned down merc after merc.

Griffin blind fired a few times before leaning out of cover to aim with his mini gun. He managed to time one his shots perfectly and he hit a nearby ignitable tank which instantly exploded sending several of the mercs flying.

Austin meanwhile went on the offensive and pushed forward. If any mercs got in his sight he gunned them down with his assault rifle. He was loving the M-76 Revenant that Dell had given him. It was perfect sort of weight, fire rate and seemed to respond perfectly to his touch. One merc fired several shots at him, forcing him to take cover. Fortunately, Austin was still able to return fire. He activated his shoulder cannon and moved it out of cover slightly. Because it was fairly small and the merc was watching for him, not a cannon, it didn't get fired on. Using the cannon's small camera so that he could see, he locked onto the merc and fired a charged plasma blast at the merc. The blast had a different affect than it did on the test targets and the mechs. The Blue Suns merc was vaporised by the blast and was disintegrated in seconds.

X-5 and Griffin finally mowed down the last of the mercs and the group took a moment to catch their breath.

"Nice shooting, Tex." said Austin to Griffin.

Griffin didn't say anything and simply saluted. But he was probably smiling under his skull faced helmet.

The group found a locked door on their way. It looked like an apartment. At first they were going to just leave it, but then Austin detected movement and they decided to investigate. After a brief hack the door opened. At first tit didn't look as though there was anyone there. But then two refugees popped out of hiding.

"Oh thank God, you're Helldivers!" Said the Female refugee.

"When we saw that door open, we thought those Turians had found us. Ever since this plague started, the Blue Suns have been out to get us. They're killing as many people as the disease." Said the male refugee.

"Why are the Blue Suns hunting you?" Austin asked.

"We didn't do anything! Pretty much every non0human in the district wants us dead!" said the female refugee.

"They think we caused the plague. Humans aren't getting sick, and that's all the evidence they need. God knows how many of us they've already killed." Said the male

"They should be looking at the Vorcha, not us! Ever since the plague hit, they've been taking over Blue Suns territory." Said the Female refugee.

"We're looking for Mordin Solus." Said Austin. He hoped they might have some information on the clinic.

"Oh, yeah. Him. He's got a clinic on the other side of the district." Said the male refugee.

"Heard he's taking in refugees now. Trying to help plague victims. Offering protection from the Blue Suns and the Vorcha." Said the female refugee.

"Sure. A doctor with military-grade mechs helping people for free. On Omega? Grow up." Said the male refugee.

"Sounds like you don't think much of the doctor and his clinic." Said Austin.

"The Vorcha tried to muscle in – he gunned them down, just like that. Pop, pop pop. Didn't even use his mechs." Said the male refugee.

"Then the Blue Suns heard he was sheltering humans, and they went to burn down the clinic. He killed them, too. Then he went inside and got back to work. He' cold. Must be Salarian special forces or something." Said the female refugee.

"You can't stay trapped in this apartment. If you get to Mordin's, you might at least survive until the quarantine ends." Said Austin.

"Are you nuts? We'd never make it. The streets are crawling with Blue Suns and Vorcha. We don't even have pistols!" the female refugee objected.

"Besides, I'm not risking my life on a rumour that some Salarian might offer me sanctuary.

"I know you're scared, but your only hope is to Mordin's clinic. We're going to be under fire from the Blue Suns and the Vorcha, so we can't take you with us. But I promise you this: we'll do what we can to leave a safe path for you to follow me. It's risky, but I think it's your only chance." Said Austin persuasively.

"Okay… you're right. We'll never make it if we stay here. We have to try." Said the male refugee.

"We'll wait here for a while and give you time to clear the way. Then we'll head for Mordin's clinic." Said the female refugee.

"If we're lucky, maybe we'll meet you there." Said the male refugee.

* * *

They proceeded further into the slums. There were more and more bonfires all over the place along with the dead bodies of Blue suns mercs and a few Vorcha.

"Looks like we're nearing the gang wars. No way the plague killed the Vorcha. They're immune to disease." said Griffin.

Although Griffin had only known X-5 and Austin for a while now, he was beginning to like them. Austin in particular seemed like an okay Commander. He understood why the rest of Alpha Squad had always spoken of the Major so highly.

The group took the high ground by heading up some stairs. They could hear gunfire in the distance.

"Hold here. Let me check it out." said Austin.

Zaeed, Griffin and X-5 remained where they were. Austin activated his cloak and went over to the edge.

Bellow, Austin could see a massive shootout between Vorcha and a very small number of Blue Suns mercs.

"Time to intervene, I think. Take offensive formation!" Austin ordered.

The others quickly went into cover while X-5 simply walked down the stairs. Several of the Vorcha took notice of him and fired. The shots however didn't do much damage to his armour and his shields took care of the rest.

Austin and Zaeed switched back to their snipers and stayed up top to even the odds out. Zaeed snipped two Vorcha while Austin managed to destroy several more flammable drums which caused many of the nearby Vorcha to catch fire. Griffin's voice suddenly came over the radio.

"I'm pinned down! They've got flamethrowers!" he said as he blind fired a few shots from cover.

Austin quickly saw where the Vorcha Pyros where. He smiled slightly when he saw that they had their backs turned to him, leaving their fuel tanks in view.

 _"They never learn."_ Austin thought to himself. The Helldiver took a few breaths, lined the target up, and fired.

The sniper shot tore through one of the tanks causing fuel to leak out. Only too late did the Vorcha notice before Austin fired another shot and the fuel ignited. The whole tanks exploded, taking the Vorcha and a few other nearby soldiers with it. Large chunks of burnt flesh where sent flying everywhere, along with a few pools of dried up blood.

With the path clear, Griffin vaulted over his cover and headed for a better spot to fire from. X-5 meanwhile was having a bit of a wrestle with a blood pack Krogan. The Krogan still had his shotgun in his hand but X-5 had grabbed his wrist. The Krogan however had done the same and was gripping X-5's other wrist so that he couldn't use his guns. If X-5 could've smiled however, he would have. The large rail gun mounted on the robot's back lined up with the Krogan's head. Before the Krogan could react, X-5 fired and the shot went straight through the Krogan's helmet, through his head and out through his back.

Zaeed and Austin finally finished the last Vorcha and switched back to their Assault rifles. They then continued through the slums.

"We're defiantly not in Kansas anymore." Griffin said as he resisted a well-known Earth line.

"The Blue Suns have given up a lot of turf. Just what I like to see." said Zaeed.

 

Finally, they saw a sign that said Clinic. The entrance was being guarded by two security mechs and a human. They didn't seem intimidated by the Helldivers.

"No funny business once you're in the clinic- unless you wanna deal with those mechs." he said.

Austin nodded in agreement and they proceeded through the doors. Austin immediately holstered his M-76 Revenant. The others got the message and did the same, apart from X-5 who couldn't really put his weapons away. Instead he simply stood down.

The Clinic was defiantly what Austin had expected. It was full of sick patients, both alien and human. Most of them did seem to be in healthy condition though. Especially the doctors. However they where all human so that wasn't surprising.

Another one of the human guards took notice of the Helldivers.

"This clinic is a sanctuary, Helldivers. If you're looking for trouble, go somewhere else!" she said.

"It's alright, Miss. We're not here for that." said Griffin reassuringly.

"We're looking for Mordin. We need his help." said Austin.

"He's around here somewhere." said the Guard.

The group proceeded further into the clinic. More and more sick aliens where around. Some even looked as though they were already dead.

They turned the corner and finally found who they were looking for. Mordin certainly wasn't what they had expected. Like all Salarians, Mordin was fairly tall and head a thin body structure. He was wearing a white lab coat with a red stripe down the chest, gauntlets with mechanical hands of some kind, and an odd looking metal arm around the back of his neck. He also appeared to have his left horn missing and he had a few scars on his face.

"Professor Mordin Solus?" Austin asked.

Mordin took notice of the Helldivers. He walked up to them and scanned them with his omni tool.

"Hmm. Don't recognize you from area. Too well armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniforms. Quarantine still in effect. Here for something else? Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom, not a cause." he said.

 _"Bloody hell! Does guy ever take a breath?"_ Austin thought. He'd never heard a Salarian talk this fast before. Especially without pausing to breathe.

"The Plague! Investigating possible use as bio weapon? No. Too many guns, not enough data equipment. Soldiers, not scientists. Hired guns, maybe?" Mordin continued.

Austin eventually decided to interrupt. It was beginning to sound like Mordin would panic. He didn't want that.

"Relax Mordin. We're here on peaceful terms. My name is Major Austin Shepard and I came here to find you. We're on a critical mission, and we need your help." he said reassuringly.

Mordin relaxed for a minute but then spoke again.

"Mission? What mission? No. Too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too fast. Who sent you?" Mordin asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Don't you know what I am? Austin asked in surprise. Then again, Helldivers didn't usually come to Omega frequently. Its lack of Government was just nothing but an accident waiting to happen.

"Of course! Helldivers! Am very sorry. Plague has mind very occupied. So, Arkanes sent you? Thought Helldivers only worked with their own. Why request aid from outside?" Mordin asked.

"A race called the Collectors is abducting human colonies out in our Terminus territory. We intend to find out why and stop them." said Austin.

"Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting these slums in engineered. Collectors one of few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar." said Mordin.

Austin nodded in agreement. Mordin then went to a nearby console.

"But, must stop plague first. Already have a cure. Need to distribute it at environmental controls centre. Vorcha guarding it. Need to kill them." he said.

"If that's what it takes, then we'll deal with the Vorcha." said Austin.

Suddenly there a powering down sound and many of the lights went red. Steam from the vents also stopped.

"That doesn't sound good." said Griffin.

"Readings indicate the environmental systems are offline." said X-5.

"Correct. Vorcha trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates." said Mordin urgently. The Salarian took the cure from his desk and gave it to Austin. "One more thing. Daniel. One of my assistants. Went into Vorcha territory. Looking for victims. Hasn't come back."

"We'll keep an eye out for him. I promise. Let's head for the environmental plant." said Austin.

* * *

The road to the environmental plant was mostly clear. There where one or two Vorcha outposts, but nothing they couldn't handle.

Eventually they found themselves in an empty hallway. Austin then saw movement in a nearby apartment.

"Breach positions." said Austin.

Austin and Griffin took cover on either side of the door. X-5 took point and Zaeed took cover next to Austin. The door opened normaly and they waited before heading through. They could hear human and Batarian voices.

"Please... I'm telling you the truth. I work for Mordin at the clinic. I came here to help you." said the human, frightened. This had to be Daniel that Mordin had mentioned.

"We know you're spreading the plague virus. We saw the vials in your bag." said the Batarian. He had Daniel by the scruff of the neck.

"No! Those vials contain the cure. Please... you have to believe me." Daniel pleaded.

"Maybe we should cut off your fingers. That should loosen your-" the Batarian however was interrupted by Austin and the others filling into the room.

"Look out!" one of the Batarians said as he drew his shotgun. The others quickly followed and the lead Batarian held Daniel at gunpoint.

"Don't move! One more step and we kill your friend!" he said.

"Nobody do anything they'll regret." said Austin calmly. He would rather avoid an unnecessary fight. These Batarians where just scared and confused.

"Shut up Helldiver! We're giving the orders here!" the leader shouted.

"Drop your weapons or he dies!" said the one with the shotgun.

"I know you're scared. Of the plague. But this man isn't to blame. If he was spreading the virus why would he come into Vorcha territory? They're immune." said Austin persuasively. Hopefully that would make them see reason.

"He's right. It doesn't make any sense." said the Batarian with the shotgun.

"If we release the prisoner, we can go?" the leader asked.

"You have my word on it." said Austin.

The leader lowered his pistol and turned to the others. "Let him go." The other Batarians did the same and then turned back to Austin. "You got what you wanted, Helldiver. Are we free to go?"

"We had a deal. You best get somewhere safe." said Austin as he lowered his rifle. The others did the same. Griffin seemed more reluctant, but he knew better than to argue with the Major.

"Human nobility. I didn't know such a thing existed." said the leader. He and the other Batarians quickly left.

"Thank you. I thought they were going to... to kill me. Did Mordin send you to find me?" Daniel asked.

"He did. It's too dangerous out here for you. Go help the Professor tend to his patients." Austin replied.

"Yeah, okay. I'll go right away. Thanks again. I owe you... well... everything." said Daniel as he left.

* * *

They proceeded further and further through the slums. More and more Vorcha and blood pack Krogan where showing up. That showed they were getting close.

Finally they found the last door. They proceeded through and found themselves in a very large room. There were two giant fans in front of them. There were also several Vorcha. The leader took notice of them. Austin and the others raised their guns.

"You no come here. We shut down machines, break fans! Everyone choke and die! Then Collectors make us strong!" the leader snarled.

"What do the Collectors want?" Austin asked.

"Collectors want plague! You work for doctor, turn on machines, put cure in air. We kill you first!" the leader snarled.

"That's does it! Kill 'em all!" Austin yelled.

Everyone immediately dove for cover and opened fire on the Vorcha. One of them launched several rockets at Austin but he dodged them. He then lined out slightly and fired several shots from his Revenant at the Vorcha. He synchronized this with plasma shots from his shoulder cannon.

Griffin threw several grenades at the Vorcha and also used his twin shoulder cannons to blast several more Vorcha. He then rolled out of cover and let his mini gun be unleashed. Several of the Vorcha had their own limbs ripped off by the mini gun's shear power.

With the Vorcha dealt with, the group proceeded to the fan controls.

"Shepard, I have scanned the room. The central control system is in an alcove in the centre of the back wall. You can inject the cure and re-initialize the systems there." came EDI's voice through the intercom.

Austin walked up to the control panel and inserted the cure. He then activated his omni tool and typed in a command to activate the systems.

"Cure in place. Now both the fans need to be reactivated." said X-5. The robot was then interrupted by a rocket impacting close to this position.

"More Vorcha up top! Find cover!" Austin yelled.

Everyone immediately went to cover from the rockets and did their best to return fire.

"We can't get clear shot from here, Shepard! They have us pinned!" Zaeed yelled over the noises of constant explosions.

Austin looked at X-5 and nodded. The robot nodded back. He knew what to do.

"You two, lay down suppressing fire! Cover me!" Austin ordered to Zaeed and Griffin.

For a moment, the two were confused, but they did as ordered. Austin immediately sprinted out of cover and ran for the nearest fan.

X-5 then activated his secret weapon. Two flight stabilizing Thrusters folded out of panels on his back and his feet changed shape to show two flight Thrusters. They all fired and X-5 flew into the air.

"I've gotta get me one of those." said Griffin as he watched X-5 fly with shooting range of the Vorcha and fired rockets back at them.

Austin meanwhile had already managed to activate the first fan and had now reached the second. Just as the door opened however, he found it filled with 4 Vorcha and a Krogan. He raised his rifle up instantly and pulled the trigger. It clicked.

"Not now!" Austin grumbled as he checked the ammo. It was empty.

"Ah. Would you mind just..." he tried to say. But the Vorcha and Krogan all attempted to melee him.

Austin instantly reacted and threw the currently empty Revenant at the Krogan's feet. He wasn't throwing it away, just using it as an advantage. He could retrieve and reload it once he'd taken care of this. The Revenant caused the Krogan to lose his balance and tumble.

Austin blocked one of the Vorcha's melee attacks with his wrist and grabbed its arms. The Vorcha tried to struggle to lose the Helldiver's grip, but Austin was twice as strong. He aimed the Vorcha's loaded rifle at another one of its men and made the Vorcha pull the trigger. The charging Pyro fell to floor causing its fuel tanks to briefly rupture and leak fuel. Only too late did the other Pyro notice and the flame from its flamethrower ignited the leaking fuel. Fortunately, Austin and the Vorcha he was currently wrestling with weren't caught in the blast.

Austin then freed his left elbow and used the blade on it to slice the Vorcha's throat.

One final Vorcha lunged at him, but Austin unsheathed Excalibur and used it to slice the Vorcha's rifle clean in two. The angry Vorcha snarled and tried to use the severed rifle as a melee weapon. Austin however countered the blow and twisted around as he trapped both the Vorcha's arms with his free hand. With a lightning fast reflex he then twirled his blade in his hand so that he now held it backhand and thrust it into the Vorcha's back. The Alien grunted painfully before dying.

That now left just the Krogan. The angry brute roared and charged at Austin. The Helldiver however simply shrugged and threw his sword. The spun towards the Krogan before it cut right through the Blood Pack soldier's helmet, right through the hard crest and embedded itself right in the Krogan's skull.

Despite being disoriented though, the Krogan still charged. Austin quickly adjusted his strategy and activated both his omni blades. Just as the Krogan almost touched him, he thrust them right into the where both the Krogan's hearts where. Both opponents skidded to a halt and the Krogan went limp. Now completely dead, Austin allowed the Krogan's corpse to fall off his blades. He gripped Excalibur by the handle and tried to pull it out but it was embedded rather deep. He put his foot down and the Krogan's head and tried again. This time, Excalibur managed to slide out of the Krogan's skull. It was dripping with Krogan blood. Austin didn't worry about it though. The blood wouldn't leave marks. Excalibur's Kartalrium blade was stainless and it had survived far worse.

Austin walked up to the control panel and enabled the final fan.

"Both fans online. Mission accomplished." said X-5.

* * *

Austin and the others returned to the clinic. Everyone already looked much better. They found Mordin in the same place they'd left him. Daniel was there was well.

"Environmental systems engaged. Airborne viral levels dropping. Patients improving. Vorcha retreating. Well done, Shepard. Thank you." said the Salarian.

"And thank you from me as well. Those Batarians would've killed me. For a second there, I thought you were gonna shoot them after they let me go." said Daniel gratefully.

"I was tempted for a minute. But in the end I figured they didn't deserve to die." Said Austin.

"Merciful of you. Risky. Would've killed them myself." said Mordin coldly.

Daniel seemed appalled at that.

"Professor, how can you say that? You're a doctor. You believe in helping people." he said.

"Lots of ways to help people. Sometimes heal patients, sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps. Go check on the patients. Lots of work to do. Think about what I said." said Mordin.

Daniel left the room. He still didn't look happy.

"Good kid. Bit naive. He'll learn. Letting him take over the clinic. Should be able to handle it now that Vorcha are gone." said Mordin.

"Well, we've cured the plague. Are you ready to help stop the Collectors?" Austin asked. He knew he didn't need to ask. Mordin had just said that he'd be leaving his assistant to take over. But Austin always liked to be sure.

"Yes. Unexpected to be working with Helldivers. Many surprises. Have heard many impressive stories about them. Just need to finish up here at clinic. Won't take long. Meet you at your ship. Looking forward to it." Mordin replied.

"We're heading out. See you on the Normandy." said Austin as he and the others left. It would be nice to get back and get some rest after all this.

* * *

Liara walked Mordin into the comm room. There was a large table in the centre of the room which had a holographic image of the Normandy projecting above it.

"Welcome to the Normandy, Professor Solus. It's an honor to have you on board." said Liara.

"Yes. Very exciting. Helldivers working with non-Helldivers. Unexpected. Am keen to know why." Mordin asked.

"It's not that we can't handle this ourselves. But this mission is different to the ones we've all had in the past. The Arkanes are taking no chances with this. We need more than just our best soldiers. We need the very best of the best. Right now, that's you." said Austin.

"Am flattered, Major Shepard." said Mordin gratefully. "What exactly are full details?"

"We don't have much I'm afraid, but it's better than nothing. The Collectors are abducting human colonists from the fringes of the Terminus Systems. More specifically, the ones on Helldiver territory. Our territory. No distress signals are sent out. No signs of attack." Austin explained.

"There is virtually no evidence that anything unusual happened at all... except that every man, woman, and child is gone." said Liara.

"Gas, maybe? No. Spreads too slow..." Mordin began, but Austin quickly stopped him.

"You don't have to sit there and guess, Mordin. We've collected samples from one of the colonies. I'd like you to analyse them and figure out how the Collectors did this." he said.

"Yes. Of course. Analyse the samples. Going to need a Lab." said Mordin.

"There is a fully equipped lab on the combat deck, Professor Solus. If you find anything lacking, please place a requisition order." came EDI's voice. Mordin looked confused by the sound.

"Who's that? Pilot? No. Synthesised voice. Simulated emotional inflections. Could it be... no. Maybe. Have to ask. Is that an AI?" Mordin asked.

"Yes. EDI is the ships artificial intelligence. She originally worked for Cerberus, but she defected. She's on our side now." said Austin.

"An AI on board? Non organic crew members? Arkanes and Helldivers more serious about this mission than I thought." said Mordin.

"The Collectors have taken tens of thousands of colonists. We'll do whatever we must to find and stop them." said Liara.

"Of course. Can't risk being captured like colonists. Need to identify, neutralize technology. Need samples. Which way to the lab?" Mordin asked.

"Follow me, Professor Solus." said Liara. She escorted Mordin out of the room and Austin soon followed.

As Austin entered the CIC, he decided to have a quick chat with Kelly.

"Mordin's psych profile warned of hyper behaviour, but he is like a hamster on coffee. He's going to be a very productive member of the team." said the Yeoman.

"That he is. Just hope he's not going to be a regular patient of yours." Austin joked.

Kelly laughed slightly. She couldn't help but smile happily at Austin. There was something about him that she found very compelling. She should try to get to know the Major better.

"Anyway, is there anything you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Anything important I should know?" Austin asked.

"You have one new message at your private terminal. I think that's it." said Kelly.

"I'll let you get back to work then, Kelly. Don't let me take up your time." Austin said politely.

Kelly managed not to blush at that. He was such a gentleman.

"Oh, I don't mind, Major. I'm always happy to talk to you, no matter what its about." she said.

"Well, I'm glad you do, Kelly. But I really should go. I have some things that need taking care of. I wouldn't mind talking to you later though." said Austin.

"I'll look forward to it, Shepard." said Kelly as she went back to her work.

Austin went over to his private terminal. He had one new message. From what it said, the Arkanes had recently enlisted the help of a thief named Kasumi Goto for the mission. She could be met on the Citadel. It looked like that was where they were heading next. He then suddenly got another one. This one was from General Zartrack. It read that the Arkanes had hoped to learn from the mistakes of the original Normandy. Unfortunately, there were a few things that they hadn't been able to include at the time. Zartrack was therefore advising Austin to make sure that the Normandy was upgraded as much as it could be. If they were going to fight the Collectors, they'd need the very best.

Austin decided to go to Mordin before he went to Dell first. At least check on how he was doing.

"Shepard. How can I help he asked?"

"Do have any ideas for ways to prepare for the Collectors?" Austin asked.

"Ideas, yes. Expensive, but worth it." said Mordin.

Mordin showed Austin what he had in mind. Mordin had an omni tool upgrade planned and lab upgrade as well. Austin approved both of them.

"So, is the lab working well for you, Mordin?" Austin asked.

"Quite satisfactory. Found a few surveillance bugs. Destroyed most of them. Have notified EDI of their presence. She apologised and said that they were meant to be have been removed from the Normandy upon reconstruction. Nothing unexpected. Just need more samples. More Collector data., tissue samples. Anything you can get, I can use. Find new tech." said Mordin.

"Have you got a minute to chat? I like to know my crew." Said Austin.

"Of course. Plague on Omega dealt with. Plenty of time to analyse Collector intelligence. Impressive laboratory setup. Missed working for operations with a budget. AI in particular very helpful. Best setup I've seen since work with Special Tasks Group." Said Mordin.

"Is Daniel settling in all right?" Austin inquired.

"Quite well. Safe and secure. Neighbourhood mostly quiet with plague gone. Left him the security mechs, just in case. Can't be too careful. Also tired of mechs. Noisy. Never used them in STG. Err, no offense to X-5." Said Mordin.

"So what kind of research were you doing in the Special Tasks Group?" Austin inquired.

"Not simply research. Several recon mission. Covert, high-risk. Served under young Captain named Kirrahe. Studied Krogan Genophage. Took water, tissue samples from Krogan colonies." Said Mordin.

The name Kirrahe made Austin remember the events of Virmire. The planet where he and his team had destroyed Saren's base and discovered the truth about the Reapers. It had also been where Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko had died.

"You worked with Kirrahe as well? What a coincidence. His team helped me destroy Saren's cloning facility on Virmire." Said Austin.

"Heard he was part of that! Jury-rigged explosives? Always got job done with limited resources. Good Captain. Bit of a cloaca, though. Loved his speeches. Hold the line! Personally preferred to get job done and go home. Probably military bravado. Jargon, chest ponding. No offense." Said Mordin.

"I should go. Nice talking with you, Mordin." Said Austin.

"Should get back to work Need to study. So much data. Here if you need me." Said Mordin as he went back to typing at his console.

* * *

Next, Austin headed down to the cargo hold. All of Alpha Squad and X-5 appeared to be practicing on the shooting range. Except for Griffin and Ventra, who were happily chatting and joking with one another, and also Sandra and Alaara how where probably having sex again judging by the moans and screams of pleasure coming from the top of one of the large pile of cargo crates. Dell meanwhile was at his workbench and Sill was busy hanging upside-down from the ceiling via a magnetic cable and was welding a new grate into place.

Dell took notice of Austin.

"What can I do for you, Major?" he asked.

"I was wondering if you had any upgrade ideas for the Normandy. Anything that may give us an edge over the Collectors?" Austin asked.

"As a matter of fact I do actually. Sill and I have been debating on whether to ask your permission to automatically install these upgrades. But now that you've asked me though, there's no need. Let me show you what we have in mind." said Dell.

The Arkane typed away at his omni tool and several holographic images of plans and schematics for upgrades appeared out of it.

From what Dell had in mind, the Normandy could be equipped with several small auto turrets that would be handy for shooting down pursuing fighters. The firepower wasn't really strong enough for a Collector ship, but it would be fine against smaller vessels. Other ideas included a backup power system, several firepower upgrades for Helldiver weapons, suit upgrades, and the best bit, a full reality simulation program. Austin immediately approved the last one. It would take up far less space than the shooting range and it was perfect for full reality training. He also approved the auto turret idea. The others, he decided to put on hold. Dell, Sill and Mordin where busy enough as it was.

 

* * *

**Now, as a little teaser, that simulator that Dell is working on will and interesting role in a future Chapter. When Miranda eventually joins the team, she discovers it can be used for more that just combat.**


	7. Chapter 7, Off Duty Distractions

**Would like to quickly stress that just in case this does get taken down, if you want me to reply to your reviews, write them on the Deviantart version. Somehow I can't seem to reply to the ones on AdultFanFiction, but I can on Deviantart. So use that one for answering questions and such.**

**Enjoy the chapter. This one will contain character development for Sill and Griffin and also a sword fight.**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Off Duty Distractions**

Austin, Liara and Garrus disembarked from the Normandy onto the Citadel. They were here to get one or two resupplies, recruit Kasumi Goto and also to see Councillor Anderson since Austin had received a message from him recently.

As they entered the wards, one of the advertisements came to life. The image showed a Japanese woman in a black hood.

"Major Shepard. Enter the password and receive a free gift!" It said.

Austin knew from the message that this was Kasumi. We walked up to the holo and it took notice of him.

"Please tell me your password, Major Shepard." Said Kasumi.

"Silence is golden." Said Austin.

"Good to finally meet you, Major Shepard. Kasumi Goto. I'm a fan." Said Kasumi.

"What's with the password and the sneaking around? Are you in trouble or something?" Austin asked. He did his best not to sound suspicious or rude.

"I'm the best thief in the business, not the most famous. Need to watch my step to keep it that way. I also needed to make sure all this was legit. And I have no doubt now – you're the real Major Austin Shepard" Said Kasumi

"What makes you so sure? How do you I'm not another Helldiver who has the same armour configuration?" Austin asked in a joking manner.

"There's a certain… aura about you. Like you've seen things no one else has. Even without knowing what you look like, I knew it was you." Said Kasumi.

"Have you been filled in on the mission?" Austin asked.

"Honestly, I'm shocked I wasn't contacted sooner. My fault for being hard to find I guess." Said Kasumi.

"So what brought you to the Helldivers?" Austin asked.

"That's a very interesting story. I'm actually an old acquaintance of theirs. I was contacted several times by them to steal some important schematics or information. I've also been a regular contact of your information broker, Xun. She and I are very good friends. She actually recommended me personally for this mission. Plus, I had a thing I needed help with, so I made the deal. And here we are." Said Kasumi.

"I assume this deal is something I should know about?" Austin asked.

"Yeah, I guess it slipped their minds. I'm looking for my old partner's graybox. A named Donovan Hock took it, and I'm planning to get it back." Said Kasumi

"I've heard of Grayboxs. Stores memories, if I'm correct. They're supposed to be illegal." Austin teased.

"You're smarter than I thought, Shepard. This one in particular belonged to my partner Keiji Okuda. We worked together for a long time, before Hock killed him." said Kasumi.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Well, if that's what you were promised, we'll get it done." said Austin.

"It'll be fun. And if we're lucky, you won't even have to draw your gun." said Kasumi.

The advertisement disappeared into the floor. Austin then spotted Kasumi standing on top of the next floor.

"We should probably wrap this up. You look pretty silly standing there talking to an advertisement. See you on the ship, Shepard." she said.

With that, she turned and then disappeared.

"She has a cloak?" Liara asked.

"Probably a gift from Xun." Austin suggested. "Anyway, let's get moving. We have a meeting to attend."

Having taken care of that business, their next stop was the Presidium. In order to get there they had to go through the C-sec station to get to the Wards. As they approached the door the scanners went over them. There was a beep and an alarm sound.

"Looks like they've tightened up security." said Garrus.

The Turian C-sec officer that handled the scanners typed at his console before speaking into the communicator in his ear.

"Shut it down! What? Do you seriously think... yeah, okay." he said. He then turned to Austin.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, sir. Our scans are picking up false readings. They seem to think you're, ah, dead." he apologised.

"It's part of my mission. Very covert and top secret. Is there any way we can work this out?" Austin asked. It would be better if the Collectors still didn't know that he had returned from the dead and was now on to them.

"My Commander can sort this out for you. Talk to him." said the C-sec officer.

The doors opened and the Helldivers found themselves in the C-sec station. Austin then saw a very familiar face sat at a desk.

"Major Shepard. It's been too long. I don't suppose you remember me. Captain Armando Owen Bailey. We fought together during the battle of the Citadel." said Bailey.

"Oh yes. I remember you. Good to see you again, Bailey. Sounds like you've been promoted." said Austin warmly.

"As have you. A Major in just two years. That's something. Anyway, I see the problem already. My console says you're dead. "said Bailey.

"You're not worried I'm some imposter claiming to be me who happens to have the same Helldiver armour?" Austin joked.

"After the battle of the Citadel the Arkanes lent some of their outdated but still advanced technology to us. We have the second best screening equipment in the galaxy. Those scanners can sample DNA from skin flakes. Hell, if you have unregistered gene mods, they can even figure those out." Said Bailey.

"I see. Anyway, I need my ID to stay that dead. My mission requires a lot of secrecy and I need to keep a low profile. So for now, don't change it." said Austin.

"You're the boss." said Bailey. The C-sec officer typed a command into the console he was sat in front of. "I just put a block in the system. Officially, you still don't exist, and you won't get hassled by the security checkpoints. You should head up the Presidium though. The Council would probably like to know that one of their lost Spectres is still kicking."

"We'll see about that. Technically I'm not a Spectre anymore. My rank was revoked before the Reaper attack." said Austin.

"Whatever you say. Now, is there anything else you need? Or can I get back to work?" Bailey asked.

"That'll be all. Thanks, Bailey." said Austin.

"If you need anything else, let me know." said Bailey.

* * *

The Presidium had seen a few changes in the past two where now more C-sec guards than before and a few places had been remodelled.

Austin, Liara and Garrus headed for the human embassy. Austin had to admit that he was not looking forward to this. Not only would he have to explain everything to Anderson, but also he would have to explain why he hadn't tried to reinstate into the Alliance, and even why he was still showing up as dead.

As the group neared the embassy, they could hear voices.

"This meeting would be more productive if Udina was to join us." he heard a female voice say. Austin recognised that voice as the Asari Councillor, Tevos.

Then Austin heard Anderson's voice. "My advisor is unavailable. As Councillor, I represent the voice of humanity and the Alliance. Shepard will be here any..." he was interrupted when the door opened and the Helldivers walked in. "Oh, Captain! We were just talking about you." he greeted.

"So I heard. And it's Major now." Austin corrected.

"Congratulations, Shepard. It's good to see you again." said Anderson.

"You said you wanted to see me. I didn't realise they'd be here." Austin said coldly as he indicated to the Council holograms. The other two Councillors included the Turian Councillor, Sparatus, and the Salarian Councillor, Valern. They looked less than pleased to see him. Not that Austin had expected anything else, he and the Council hadn't always seen eye to eye, nor where they the best of friends with the Helldivers.

"We've heard many rumours surrounding your unexpected return. Some of them are... unsettling." said Valern.

"We called this meeting so you could explain yourself, Shepard. After all you saved our lives in the war against Saren and his Geth." said Tevos.

"The Collectors are abducting human colonies in the Terminus Systems. Worse, we have firm reason to believe they're working for the Reapers." said Austin.

"The Terminus Systems are beyond our jurisdiction. You're colonists knew this when they left Council space." said Sparatus angrily.

 _"Nothing's changed."_ Austin sighed in his head.

"You're missing the important part, Councillor. The Reapers **are** involved." said Anderson.

"Ah, yes. "Reapers" The sentient race of immortal ships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim." said Sparatus.

"How unsurprising." said Austin.

"Watch your mouth, Shepard!" said Valern angrily.

"I don't answer to you anymore! My only allegiance is to the Arkanes!" said Austin. "Besides, they believe me. What more do you want?"

"They may be foolish enough to believe your story, but they still have no firm proof that this wild myth of yours is even mentioned." said Sparatus.

Anderson turned to Austin. "Shepard, only you encountered the hologram on Ilos that told you about the Reapers. Only you and your crew ever spoke with Sovereign. I believe you, but without evidence from another source, the others think Saren was behind the Geth attacks." he said.

"Well, I guess I'll have to do this without your help, again!" said Austin coldly.

"We are in a difficult position, Major. You have refused to reinstate back into the Alliance and therefore no longer fall under our jurisdiction. That makes you a risk. And then there are the reports of you working for Cerberus." said Tevos.

"What? What reports?" Austin asked in surprise.

Anderson once again turned to Austin.

"There has been recent Intel from the Alliance that says that you've been working for Cerberus ever since you returned." said Anderson. "I refused to believe it, but the Council had different opinions."

Austin immediately walked closer to the Council.

"These reports are false rumours by Cerberus! They're trying to turn you against me!" said Austin defiantly. "And I'll prove I'm not with Cerberus!"

Austin typed at his omni tool and uploaded all the Intel on Cerberus that EDI had provided. The Council looked surprised by this.

"This is very firm evidence. It proves that you are not affiliated with Cerberus." said Tevos.

"But there is still the fact that Shepard is operating outside of our knowledge. He'll just end up triggering a war with the Terminus Systems!" Sparatus objected.

 _"I hate that guy!"_ Austin groaned in his head.

"That's too far! Shepard is a hero! I'm on this council too and I won't let this whitewash continue!" said Anderson defiantly.

"Maybe there is a compromise. Not a public acknowledgement given the secrecy of your mission, but something that shows peripheral support." Tevos suggested.

"Shepard, if you keep a low profile and restrict your operations to the Terminus Systems, the Council is willing to offer you reinstatement as a Spectre." said Sparatus.

"What does that mean? Will I have to start filing reports? Because those are classified for the Arkane Council only!" said Austin.

"That won't be necessary. This is a good show of faith on our behalf." said Valern.

"We cannot become involved in an investigation regarding the missing colonists in the Terminus Systems, but Spectre reinstatement shows our support of you personally." said Tevos.

 _"Well I don't care if it's a good deal; I'm not having that Spectre rank back! I hated that job!"_ Austin thought. He didn't want to sound rude about it though. He decided to decline politely.

"I appreciate the offer, Councillors. But I don't want it. Besides, my investigation may not forever be restricted to just the Terminus Systems. The Collectors could eventually attack colonies in your territory, and if they do, I will stop them. So thank you, but no thank you." he said.

Despite sounding polite about it though, the Council did not look happy.

"We've tried to be reasonable." said Tevos.

"Clearly a mistake! If your Helldiver actions become a danger to the safety of the Council space, we will take action!" said Sparatus angrily.

"Watch your step, Major. You've been warned." said Valern.

The holograms of the Council vanished, leaving just Anderson, Austin, Liara and Garrus.

"Well, that didn't go as I expected. " said Anderson.

"I never wanted to be a Spectre in the first place, and the Council just kept holding me back. They said so themselves, I don't answer to them anymore." said Austin.

"True. I just hope that the Alliance doesn't start seeing you in the same light. Don't worry about the Council. I'll find some way to keep them off your back. Shouldn't be too hard, as long as the attacks stay in the Terminus systems. And don't worry about the Alliance, they'll be fully supportive of you looking after our colonies." said Anderson.

At that moment, the door opened and Ambassador Udina stepped in. Austin groaned at seeing him. Udina was the last person he wanted to see now.

"Anderson, we need to talk about... Shepard. What are you doing here?" Udina asked in surprise as he saw the Helldiver.

"I don't think that's any of your business, Udina. Besides, what do you care?" Austin replied.

"I'd heard you were alive, but I didn't expect to see you back on the Citadel." said Udina. He then turned to Anderson.

"I invited Shepard here to speak with the Council. We just finished our meeting." Anderson explained.

"You what? Councillor, do the words political shit-storm mean anything to you?" Udina asked angrily.

"The Council offered to reinstate my Spectre status. I turned it down." said Austin.

"Humanities first and only Spectre and you quit? You Helldivers are all the same! You charge in head first with no consideration for the long term consequences!" said Udina.

"You know, I'm now ready to punch someone, and you're too close." Austin threated.

"We don't answer to you, Udina. Why don't you go to your office and think about that for a while." said Anderson.

"Of course, Councillor. Good day, to both of you." said Udina coldly as he left the room.

"I swear, one of these days I'm gonna kill him." Austin groaned.

"Sorry about that. Udina's never gotten over the fact that I got the Council position instead of him. Sometimes I need to put him in his place." Anderson apologised.

"Then what the hell do you keep him around for?" Austin asked.

Anderson turned and walked over to the balcony that overlooked the Presidium.

"He's got his uses, and if you want something done on the Citadel, Udina's the one to talk to. Plus, he's happy to attend all those diplomatic functions I can't be bothered with." said Anderson.

"How have the last couple of years treated you?" Austin asked.

"Serving on the Council isn't how I planned to spend my twilight years. Sometimes it feels like I'm just beating my head against a wall. Knowing the truth about Sovereign is brutal. Its nightmare stuff. Can't blame the others for not wanting to believe it. But I know how important it is, so I keep trying. Fight the good fight, right?" said Anderson.

"So, how long did it take to get this place back up to speed after the battle?" Austin asked.

"Still counting. The main areas of commerce and the most populated wards are complete, but estimates for total restoration are sitting around five years. The Keepers always surprise us, though. It's like our repairs are annoying. We'll put up an ugly new bulkhead and in a few days they've made it seamless. We never really thought of them as heavy lifters, and I have no idea where they get the resources, but we'd never get done without them." Said Anderson.

"What happened to Ashley Williams after the Normandy was destroyed?" Austin asked. He reckoned Anderson would shed some more light on what had happened to his childhood friend.

"Operations Chief Williams is still with the Alliance, but she's working on a special mission. It's classified. Since you're no longer part of the Alliance, I can't say anymore. I'm sorry." Said Anderson.

"I better go." Said Austin.

"Of course, Shepard. I understand. I wish I could do more to help you, but if you ever want to talk, I'll be here. Just do me a favour and be careful. Who knows where this mission will take you." Said Anderson.

* * *

Austin had decided to not leave the Citadel instantly, even though they had done all that they had come here for, for now. He had given everyone a small bit of shore leave and had told them to get some rest and try and have a bit of fun.

Austin proceeded into the living areas of the Presidium where most of the apartments where. Ever since their victory over the Batarians all those years ago, Alpha Squad had been given their own personal apartment that was only ever accessible to them. They'd since converted it into an almost home away from home. It had a bar with drinks, a pool table and lots of other things designed for off duty enjoyment.

As Austin walked in he could already see that Alpha Squad and some of the team had wasted no time in making use of their free time.

Dell was currently sat at a nearby table and was busy chatting with Mordin; Sill was sat at a separate table on her own and had what appeared to be a sketch pad of some kind. Liara meanwhile was stood against the pool table and was keenly observing the card game that the rest of Alpha Squad where currently playing. Austin couldn't help but chuckle when he saw that Dash was playing as well. He would've thought that they'd all learned by well. Even Griffin was playing. The demolition expert had his helmet off which showed his face.

The Helldiver had few burns and marks on his face along with a few scars obviously from the explosives he handled. He had very short black hair and a stubble and green eyes.

Austin was glad though that Griffin was settling in so well. From what Alaara had told him, Griffin had at first found it difficult to really get to know the rest of the squad, despite having worked with them for nearly a year now. These days however, he was getting better at it. This card game in particular was proof of that.

Austin was curious to see what Sill was doing and he walked up to the young Arkane. At first, she didn't notice him. Austin cleared his throat and that got Sill's attention.

"Oh, hello, Major. I didn't see you there." she said warmly. She extended out her free hand and Austin shook it.

"You looked a bit lonely over here. Thought we could chat for a bit." Austin suggested.

"Sure. Please, have a seat." said Sill.

Austin sat down next to Sill and looked at what she was doing. She appeared to be doing a sketch of the view of the Presidium in front of her. It was still half finished but it looked very good.

"You're an artist as well?" Austin asked.

"What, this? Nah! It's just a hobby. Really puts my mind at peace. But I do put these drawing skills to good use. Dad always has me draw the blueprints and design the schematics for our inventions." said Sill. She alternated her gaze between the drawing and making eye contact with Austin.

"How long have you actually worked with your father?" Austin inquired.

"Almost 110 years. Dad's always been a real grease monkey. Ever since I was four, he taught me everything about taking something apart and putting it back together again. When I was a little girl he used to buy me these little toy models for my birthday. They were made so that they could be built, then taken apart and then put back together again. It was so much fun." said Sill.

"It's nice that you do something you love doing as a job." said Austin.

"Yep! Dad's always told me that he's been so proud." Sill smiled as she continued drawing.

"What about your mother? You and Dell haven't really said anything about her." Austin asked.

"Mom's a teacher for the Helldivers. Uthenra Arturus? Perhaps you've heard of her?" Sill asked.

"Oh yes! She teaches political and social correctness, right?" Austin asked.

Sill nodded. "She often asks "where would the Helldivers be without us?"

"I don't mean to be rude, but... your dad. Has he always been...?" Austin asked, pausing as he tried to think up an appropriate word.

Sill however could guess what he was trying to ask. "Accident prone?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that... more sort of... clumsy." said Austin. "Don't get me wrong though. Your dad's brilliant! Hell, he was one of the seven Arkanes that made the Helldivers. It just surprises me that he's a bit clumsy from time to time."

"Well, Dad loves his job so much. Sometimes he just gets a bit... overexcited and it sometimes gets the better of him. He doesn't seem to mind though. One time, he had this crazy idea of making a slime gun for a party. He made it, but it blew a fuse on the first test run and went into a frenzy. By the time I turned it off, Dad was covered in slime. Despite this though, he still had a smile on his face and he found the whole thing funny. He enjoys watching people laugh and he laughs along with them. He always likes to look on the bright side of things, something he passed on to me. Take happiness wherever you can find it, and enjoy your life." said Sill.

"That's a very positive attitude." said Austin warmly.

"What can I say? Us engineers usually are." said Sill as she smiled. The Arkane then finished her sketch and showed it to Austin. "What do you think?"

Austin took the sketch in his hands and looked at it closely. The attention to detail that Sill had included was brilliant. The shading also really brought certain areas to life. If it had colour, it would look perfect. Austin's eye widened in surprise.

"It's good. Very good in fact. You've got some talent." he said. He then turned some the pages in the sketch book, showing some of the other drawings that Sill had done. "No wonder Dell has you do schematics. These are fabulous!"

Sill couldn't help but blush slightly. The Major was too kind.

"Thank you, Shepard. It's nice to have a Helldiver say good things about my work. Some are often too much by the book and have far too cold manners. You're completely different." she said.

"You don't earn friends just through respect. Show 'em what you're really like, and they'll see you as a friend." Austin smiled back. "Anyway, I should go. It was nice talking with you, Sill."

"Likewise, Shepard. It was good to get to know you better. Let's do it again sometime." Sill smiled as she took out some schematic drawings and began noting downs some new ideas.

Austin then stood next to Liara and put his arm around her warmly as they both watched Alpha Squad's card game. Austin already knew who was going to win.

"Glad to see they're already enjoying themselves." said Austin as he hugged Liara to him a bit more. The Asari smiled at her bond mate's happy expression.

At that moment, Austin's predictions where correct and Dash drew the winning move.

"Yes! Yes! That's how you play a game of cards!" said the young Helldiver triumphantly.

The rest of Alpha Squad gave happy sighs but at the same time, laughed at losing again. It hadn't been the first time they had lost to Dash. For Griffin, this was a new experience, but he still kept a smile up. The game had still been enjoyable.

"Word to the wise, Griffin. Never play Dash, especially for money. He's an absolute demon." Austin chuckled.

"Ha! And that's why you all love me." said Dash as he sat back in his seat. Kraan, who'd been sat next to him, gave him a friendly nudge on the shoulder.

Griffin stood up and went over to the bar where he ordered a drink. Austin planned to chat with him.

"I have something to ask you, Austin." said Liara.

"I'm listening." said Austin as he looked at his girlfriend.

"Remember two years ago when you gave me a small lesson on fencing?" Liara.

It was then that Austin noticed the sword strapped to Liara's left hip. It was the exact same one that he had given her when he had taught her.

"Let me read your mind. You've been training for the past ten years and you want to spar with me?" Austin asked.

Liara smiled and nodded.

"Well, I don't see why not. We're on leave so..." said Austin.

"Meet me back at the Normandy later." said Liara as she turned to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" Austin asked.

"To slip into something a bit better. I'll also be practicing." said Liara as she left the room.

Austin decided that now was as good a time as any and stood next to Griffin at the bar. He himself ordered a drink too.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah. Thanks for asking." said Griffin cheerfully.

"So what's your story? I always like to know my squad." said Austin.

"Haven't you read my service record?" Griffin asked.

"Not much. It's better to actually hear it from the person themselves." Austin replied.

"Well I guess there's no harm in it." said Griffin. The demolition expert ordered another drink and sat on one the stools. Austin did the same.

"Well, I was born and raised on Omega. It was tough environment, but I learned to look out for myself. I originally worked as a Blue Suns merc, but that didn't really work out. Gangs are just nothing but trouble." said Griffin.

"So what led you to the Helldivers?" Austin inquired.

"I enlisted into the Helldivers when I was eighteen." Griffin's voice then dropped to a whisper. "Well, between you and me, it was actually seventeen. I hated Omega too much. Couldn't stand to wait another year before joining. Got an old friend to fake my age and now, here I am." For a moment Griffin looked concerned. "You're not gonna report me are you?"

"Don't worry, Alex. Your secret's safe with me." said Austin before he took sip of his drink. "We all have our little secrets. Nobody's perfect, not even this squad."

"They're an interesting bunch. But it's amazing how similar we are all are underneath. The lord is full of surprises." said Griffin.

"What do you say?" Austin asked. He wasn't sure if he'd heard that right.

"I believe in God. I don't really care if people say otherwise. That's not a problem, is it?" Griffin asked. It was defensive though. It was obvious that the Helldiver wasn't afraid to stand up for what he believed in.

"Are you threatening me, Griffin?" Austin asked in a challenging manner. This was starting to get interesting.

"Like I said, I grew up on Omega. I've had many years to learn to fight dirty. Plus, I may be new to this squad, but I'm no rookie." said Griffin.

"You're brave and confident. Especially to stand up to me. I like that in a soldier. You may be just what Alpha needs." Austin smiled. He admired bravery and confidence in soldiers. The fact that Griffin had stood up to him showed that this guy was no pushover. Austin raised his glass. Griffin got the message and clinked it against Austin's.

"Nice to know I've made a good first impression, sir." said Griffin.

"Don't call me that. Alpha Squad isn't as strict as some might think. We're all friends here, Alex. Just call me Shepard." said Austin.

Griffin seemed to smile slightly.

"Alright... Shepard." he said. After a brief pause, the demolition expert spoke again. "I have a question for you."

"Ask away, Alex." said Austin.

"I've noticed the way you and Commander T'soni look at one another. Are you two...?" Griffin asked.

"Yeah. We are." said Austin. He didn't even hesitate to say that. Not only was he not afraid of people knowing about his relationship with Liara, but it also told others that Liara was off limits. He had a feeling that griffin might have asked this to try and know if he had a chance. Still, it was good of the Helldiver to ask, rather than just assume.

"You're a lucky guy, Shepard. T'soni's a fine woman. I'm happy for you both." Griffin smiled as he ordered another drink. "It's nice to know that something like love can still flourish under such dark times. Can we expect it to be more than that?"

At first, Austin was unsure on what to say, but he quickly regained his composure.

"I certainly hope so. I love Liara deeply, and one day I hope to marry her. Hopefully even start a family." said Austin.

"Really? Well then, I'll look forward to the wedding." said Griffin. "Liara T'soni Shepard. I think it has good ring to it."

"Thanks, Alex." said Austin. "Cheers!" he said as he raised his glass.

"Cheers!" Griffin repeated.

* * *

Austin left everyone to their time off and headed back to the Normandy where Liara would be. As he re-entered the CIC he found Kelly still at her desk.

"Still working, Kelly?" he asked.

"I had something I really needed to finish." Kelly replied. "Why are you back so early?"

"I'm doing a bit of sparring with Liara. Fencing." Austin replied.

"I see. In that case, good luck, Shepard." said Kelly.

"Before I go, what do you think of the two newest additions we have on the team?" Austin asked.

"Well, that Kasumi is an interesting addition to the crew. I can see why she's good at her work... she never reveals anything meaningful about herself. It's all on the surface. It'll be a challenge getting to know who she really is." said Kelly.

"Time will tell." said Austin.

"Yeah. I guess so. Anyway, have fun with Commander T'soni, Major." said Kelly, and the Yeoman went back to her work.

* * *

Austin walked out of the elevator and found Liara was waiting for him. She was currently practicing on the large circular platform that was now the simulator that Dell and Sill had recently finished. The two Arkanes had worked methodically on the machine and had managed to finish in just under a day or so. Dell had told Austin that he hadn't fully tested it yet, but that it was online and fully operational. That gave Austin an idea.

Without startling his girlfriend, Austin walked up to Liara and grasped her from behind. Having expected him, Liara didn't seem to be surprised and merely lay back against him as he caressed her armoured stomach.

"I was wondering when you'd show." she said as she kissed her bond mate.

"Good to see that you still have the same sword I gave you." said Austin.

"It was one of the only things I had left of you when you died." said Liara. "Anyway, shall we?"

"Before we do, I thought we might make things more interesting." said Austin suggestively.

"What did you have in mind, my love?" Liara asked. "Have me tear all my armour off and fight you naked?" she laughed.

"No. While that would be very hot, no. I thought we might have a change of scenery and use the simulator for the first time." Austin replied.

The part of Liara's skin pigment which was designed to resemble an eye brow pricked up in interest.

"You sure it's safe? Dell and Sill have only just finished it." said Liara cautiously.

"Dell told me it's working. He just has yet to do a proper run. Think of it as... helping him out." said Austin.

"You're quite the rouge, Austin. This bold attitude of yours will get you anywhere." said Liara.

"Perhaps even somewhere with you tonight?" Austin asked.

"That depends on whether you win." Liara teased.

Austin smiled slyly as he set up the necessary information for the simulation. He decided to set in the ruins of a castle on the top of a high rocky mountain. He then put in the necessary weather conditions and everything else. He then pressed the button and stepped onto the pad with Liara.

There was low hum as the simulator's massive arms came to life and began to project images everywhere. More and more appeared and then the whole cargo bay around them seemed to change and morph into ripples until it finally settled down and the entire scenery had completely changed. They both looked around and admired the place that would be their battle ground.

"This is nice and peaceful." said Liara.

"I thought I'd be nice to have plenty of good scenery for what's hopefully going to be a good duel." said Austin. He drew Excalibur out of its holster and held it in his left hand. He'd try and see how good Liara was with that hand first. If he used his right, it could be over too quickly. He noticed Liara seemed to be holding hers left handed. Austin guessed that his girlfriend was opposite to him. This would be interesting.

"Ready then, my love?" Liara asked as she went into a fighting stance.

"Absolutely! En garde." said Austin.

Liara attacked first with several quick strikes that Austin managed to block easily. Austin then attacked back, forcing Liara to back away slightly as she countered Excalibur's strikes. When she parried the last she then swung several times, forcing Austin to back away slightly in surprise. Austin smiled slightly and attacked again. Liara however easily countered the attack, moving Austin's sword to one side. Liara then made a thrust at Austin but he too parried the attack and flung her sword aside.

Both opponents took a moment to relax. That hadn't been bad for the first bit.

"You certainly know what you're doing, Liara. Excellent form." said Austin.

Both blades then met again and the two looked seriously at one another.

"But how's your footwork?" Austin asked, deciding to try a different tactic. "If I step here..."

Austin moved his foot over the other as he made several swings at Liara. The Asari however simply mirrored his movements perfectly and blocked each one. She then swung a few attacks as well. Austin blocked those. They then stopped for a minute. Liara was even better at this than Austin had anticipated.

"Very good. And now I step again..." said Austin.

The Helldiver made another fast move around Liara which she quickly parried. Within seconds, both opponents' places had been switched as they both struck and parried one another.

The two once again broke for a breather.

"Impressive. Most impressive, Liara. I think we're warmed up now." said Austin.

Liara smiled and readied for another fight.

A swing form Austin sword made Liara jump back onto lower ground. Despite this though, she still blocked, countered and parried all of Austin incoming blows.

"You are wonderful." she said.

"Thank you. I've worked hard to become so." said Austin. He once again made another lunge at Liara, but the Asari dodged the blow and back away slightly so that she had more room.

"I admit it, you are better than I am." she said as she blocked another attack.

"Then why are you smiling?" Austin asked.

"Because you've clearly forgotten something, my love." said Liara confidently.

"Which is?"

"I am not left handed." said Liara. Before Austin even realised it, Liara's blade instantly shifted from her left hand to her right. Things really changed after that. Now using her proper blade arm, Liara's attacks where much faster and more coordinated. Austin cursed himself slightly for forgetting that Liara had fought with her right hand when he had first taught her two years ago.

Austin quickly adjusted his strategy and jumped over one of Liara's low sweeps. He landed to the side on a flight of stairs.

 _"Let's take this to higher ground."_ Austin thought.

Liara thrust several times at Austin as she pushed him back up the stairs. Austin however let her. Once they were at the top, he could use his defence to attack. Liara's fighting moves however where very fierce. Despite this though, she seemed to keep calm and didn't let her anger power her attacks. Zartrack had after all taught all his students to never attack in anger.

At that moment, Austin got his timing wrong and his right leg lost its balance on one of the steps. Liara took this opportunity and made several more thrust. Just in time though, Austin brought his blade up and pushed hard against one of the attacks, pushing Liara back. Quickly using what time he had, Austin quickly got back just as Liara made another swing at his leg, which he parried instantly.

Liara continued pushing her boyfriend up the stairs as she delivered attack after attack at Austin. Finally the two opponents reached the top and where both on level ground again.

"You're amazing." said Austin as he finally returned the attacks and swung at Liara.

"I ought to be after Zartrack taught me for two years." said Liara. She then made a cleverly quick thrust which Austin swung at to block but missed, causing his blade to end up too far to the side. Liara seized the chance and pinned the blade down and brought herself right up close to Austin, forcing him over the edge of the ruined wall slightly.

"Well theirs something I ought to remind you, Liara." Austin grunted as he tried to push Liara off him. Several loose rocks fell away as Liara's enhanced Helldiver strength kept pushing on him. Even with his own suit, it was difficult and he had to put all his own strength into to avoiding her pushing him over the edge.

"And what is that?" Liara asked, now sounding certain that she'd won.

"I'm not left handed either." said Austin. Using Liara's distraction he summoned up all his strength and pushed her off.

Now free, Austin threw his sword up in the air and caught it. This time in his right hand. Now things where getting very interesting. Both opponents where now using every trick and move they knew and still neither was gaining an advantage. Austin reckoned that Zartrack would definitely be impressed if he could see this.

Austin made a hard and strong thrust at Liara which she only just parried. She then made her own lunge, but she hadn't counted on Austin being fast enough and he parried her blade in two full circles causing her to lose her grip and her sword went flying all the way back down to where they'd started.

Austin held his blade up in line with Liara, but the Asari refused to be beaten. She quickly jumped and swung once on a nearby pole between two pillars. She then let go and landed on her feet. She did a roll and picked her sword back up. The Asari swirled back around and waited for Austin to try and jump down. To her surprise, Austin sheathed his sword and jumped at the pole. To her shock he then did two full circle swings before finally letting go and landing on the ground. As he did, he unsheathed Excalibur again.

"Now that's showing off." Liara chuckled.

Austin smiled under his helmet and swung at Liara again. The two swordsmen exchanged a flurry of lows, parries, and feints. The two then clashed together and ended up in blade lock. Both forced themselves against one another as they tried to push each other away. Both their locked blades where brought down to chest level and they both looked at each other's helmets through the cross of the blades. Liara then saw an opening and trod rather hard on Austin's foot causing to back away and break the lock. Liara spun and lunged at Austin. The Helldiver however dodged the attack and used the very brief moment to his advantage. Using all the enhanced strength he could find in his body and his suit he swung Excalibur upwards. His blade had such force that it hit Liara's blade hard and she lost her grip. Her blade went flying in the air and Austin caught it in his free hand.

Liara stood back, amazed at her boyfriend. Both Helldivers retracted their helmets and relaxed.

"In all my life, I've never seen anyone fight that well. Apart maybe from Zartrack." Austin smiled as he panted.

"You're not so bad yourself, Austin. The past two years hasn't weakened you at all." said Liara.

"Now, I believe you said there'd be a reward for me if I won?" Austin asked.

"End simulation!" Liara said.

The whole environment around them once again flickered and they found themselves back in the cargo bay of the Normandy. Liara then smiled at Austin.

"I'll be waiting in your quarters." Liara winked. Austin threw Liara's sword to her and she caught it. The Asari then made for the elevator, seductively swinging her hips as she went. Austin simply smirked to himself. He'd look forward to tonight.

* * *

Shadow stood on the deck of the ship she had commissioned for hunting down Shepard. The Phantom looked out into the deep, empty void of space. All she could think about though, was the Helldiver she was tracking. Ever since the incident on the Lazarus station, all she could think about now was driving her blade through the Helldivers heart.

Her contemplation was then interrupted by Miranda and Jacob who had just returned from Omega.

"What did you find?" she asked in her cold voice.

"The beat us to it. They have Mordin Solus with them." Jacob answered.

Rage filled the Phantom's face. With cat like reflexes she pinned Jacob to the ground with her foot on his neck.

"Azula, no!" Miranda objected. Before she could do anything though, Shadow swiped her hard across the face, sending her to the floor.

"I give you one thing to do! One thing to do, and you let Shepard slip through your fingers again?" Shadow shouted. The neural implants on her face glowed fiery red from her anger, and her badly damaged scars seemed grow slightly. Shadow looked terrible.

"It wasn't our fault, Azula. Cerberus isn't very welcome on Omega. We had to keep a low profile.

Shadow simply growled and slowly stopped strangling Jacob with her foot.

"Go! Get out of my sight!" she said.

Jacob turned to leave without hesitation. Miranda however stood her ground.

"The more brutal you are, you the more likely you'll get us killed, Azula." Miranda said as she spat a bit of blood from Shadow's punch.

"As long as Shepard dies, I care not." said Shadow.

"The orders are to take Shepard alive!" Miranda objected.

"The orders are to take him down, Lawson. I'm properly willing to discuss the proper details when we've done that." Shadow argued.

"The Illusive Man wants him alive." said Miranda.

"The Illusive Man wants the suit! That's what he'll get!" Shadow shouted.

Miranda gave up trying to argue with the Phantom.

"The Illusive Man isn't going to like this, Azula." she said as she turned and left with Jacob.

"Stop using my real name, Lawson. Or next time I will slice that pretty little ass of your off!" said Shadow.

Shadow wasn't really the Phantom's actual name. Her real name was Tyranny Azula. Despite that she insisted on being called Shadow though, Miranda still felt that she could call her that.

"Soon, I will have my richly deserved revenge. I will make Shepard feel the pain that he has caused me. And when the wretch begs for mercy, he shall receive not but the heel of my foot, and my laugh of bitter contempt."

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed that.**

**Good news! My College term is now finished so I have at least 2 months of free time. You can hopefully expect chapters to be uploaded faster.**


	8. Chapter 8, Team Archangel

**Sorry this one took so long to write. Things have been busy, but now I have some much needed free time which I will use to get the next chapter written as soon as possible.**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Team Archangel**

Austin & Liara slowly came out of the best meld they'd ever had. For them, last night had been filled with nothing but lovemaking. Although the two had agreed to not let their relationship distract them from the mission, that didn't mean that there wouldn't be the occasional nights where they'd give in to their feelings and desires.

"Now that was a well-earned prize." Austin panted as he caressed one of Liara's breasts.

"This is very good practice you know." Liara panted.

"For what?" Austin asked, slightly confused.

"For when we'll eventually be making those little blue children you talked about." Liara grinned.

Austin grinned back.

Before they could continue, Kelly suddenly walked in.

"Major, we… Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" she said as she averted her gaze. Austin and Liara quickly hurried to get dressed.

"I hope you have a good excuse for not knocking, Chambers." Said Austin as he quickly pulled his shirt back on.

"I'm so sorry, Major. I thought you were alone. We're receiving an urgent message from the Arkane Council." Said Kelly. She was doing her best not to look since Austin still hadn't pulled his trousers on and his cock was still hard from last night.

"Alright, we'll be right there. Just let us get dressed." Said Austin.

"Yes, Major." Said Kelly as she headed for the door. She risked one brief glance at Austin as she did.

"And Kelly… knock next time." Austin added.

* * *

Austin walked into the comm room and the table lowered itself into the floor. A holographic grid rose up and scanned Austin as he walked onto it. Pretty soon a holographic image of the entire Arkane Council appeared in front of him.

"Major Shepard, we have an urgent situation that we feel only you can pull off!" said Spartan.

"What do you need, Councillors?" Austin asked.

"For the past several years we've had a Helldiver working undercover on Omega. They've been working to disrupt and slow down some of the merc groups there." Tarnack explained.

"I'm guessing things haven't gone all that well?" Austin inquired.

"Unfortunately, all three of the local merc groups have teamed up to fight them. This still wouldn't be a problem since Team Archangel are good at covering their tracks, but the mercs have managed to track them back to their hold out and the team are trapped." Said one of the unknown Councillors.

"If they are caught or killed we can obviously disavow all knowledge of their actions, but if the mercs discover who they really are, then Aria may forbid Helldivers from setting foot on Omega. We cannot afford that to happen. Omega's too damn important." Said another Councillor.

"What do you need us to do then?" Austin asked.

"Infiltrate the mercs as freelancers and get team Archangel out of there. We'll handle the rest." Said Tarnack.

Austin bowed his head slightly. "I'll plot a course for Omega immediately." He said.

"Good luck, Major. Give 'em hell!" said Spartan.

The Council vanished and the holographic grid disappeared back into the table.

"Joker, plot a course for Omega. I've gotta go see Dell." Said Austin.

"Aye, aye, Major." Joker replied.

* * *

All of Alpha Squad where assembled in the cargo bay. The where swapping their Helldiver armour for normal merc armour.

"Remind me again why we're going to rescue team Archangel dressed like this." Said Griffin.

"Helldivers going after a group of vigilantes raises too many questions. It's safer for us to go in disguised as freelancers." Austin replied as he fixed on the Death Mask that Dell had provided him with.

All of the merc armour had been made by Dell himself. On the outside it was normal looking armour that any mercenary would wear. On the inside however was another story. Dell had very cleverly installed Helldiver technology into the suits. Examples included plasma cannons that would appear out of hidden compartments on the shoulder, Helldiver suit computers, and older version of the tactical cloak and many other features.

"Undercover work, eh? This ought to be interesting." Said Ventra as he checked his sniper-bow.

"We are still bringing our weapons, right?" Griffin asked as he held up his mini gun.

"Those'll be fine. Helldivers aren't identified by their weapons." Dell replied.

"Good. I never go into battle without this." Said Griffin as he holstered the mini gun on his back.

"What about X-5? He's got Helldiver markings on him." Kraan asked.

"Sill's refitting him. He'll now just look like a mech under our control." Said Dell as he indicated to where Sill was currently welding a new shoulder plate onto X-5.

Joker's voice then came over the radio. "We're approaching Omega, Major." He said.

* * *

Alpha Squad disembarked from the Normandy, now all completely outfitted in Merc armour. Austin's omni tool bleeped and EDI once again appeared out of it.

"I have accessed messages between mercenary groups regarding plans to deal with team Archangel. There's recruiting station at Afterlife that may have information." She said.

"It'll be best to ask Aria first, but thanks for tip, EDI." Said Austin.

The squad proceeded into Afterlife, careful to not attract attention with their numbers. Aria motioned for Austin to sit down.

"Nice new outfit, Shepard." She said.

"Keep your voice down, Aria! I'm working undercover." Austin hissed.

"I see. Anyway, what do you need?" Aria asked.

"I'm trying to track down Team Archangel." Austin replied.

"You and half of Omega. You want them dead too?" Aria asked.

"No. I'm putting a team together. Archangel is on my list." Said Austin.

"Interesting. You're gonna make some enemies teaming up with Team Archangel. That's assuming you can get to them. They're in a bit of trouble right now." Said Aria.

"What kind of trouble?" Austin asked. Obviously he knew, but he didn't want Aria getting suspicious if he already knew.

"The local merc groups have joined forces to take him down. They've got them cornered, but it sounds like they're having trouble finishing them off. They've started hiring anyone with a gun to help them.

"This may be our best tactic." said X-5.

"They're using a private room for recruiting. Just over there." Said Aria as she indicated to a nearby door with a Blue Suns Batarian standing guard. "I'm sure they'll sign you up."

"What can you tell me about Team Archangel?" Austin asked.

"Not as much as I'd like. They showed up here several months ago and started causing all sorts of problems. If you make your own laws, which everyone here does, they make life difficult. They're reckless and idealistic, but they seem to know enough to stay clear of me." Aria explained.

"Which merc groups are after Team Archangel?" Austin asked.

"Blue Suns, Eclipse, Blood pack. They're Omega's major players." Said Aria.

At the mention of all three merc groups, Griffin, Alaara and Kraan exchanged concerned looks at one another. Each one of them had originally been in one of those gangs before becoming Helldivers. Kraan had been in the Blood pack, Griffin had briefly been in the Blue Suns and Alaara had once been an Eclipse merc a very long time ago though.

"Unless they're at war, you'll never see them together. But one thing they hate more than each other, is Team Archangel." Said Aria.

"Do you hate Archangel?" Austin asked. He hoped he wouldn't be making enemies with Aria too. Making enemies with three different merc groups that some of his squad had once been part of would be hard enough.

"I don't have time for hate. But I distrust them all equally. For now I'm happy just to let them kill each other." Said Aria.

"I appreciate the help, Aria." Said Austin.

"See if you still feel that way when the mercs realize you're here to help them." Said Aria.

"Sounds like I don't have much time then." Said Austin as he stood up from his seat.

"You've got all the time in the world. Team Archangel, not so much." Said Aria.

Alpha Squad proceeded down the stairs from Aria's booth and went over to the Blue Suns merc.

"I hear you're recruiting." Said Austin.

The Batarian nodded and indicated to the door.

"Hmm. Why don't you step inside?" He said.

In the room was another Blue Suns Batarian who was typing away at a console. He was addressing another freelancer.

"You'll get paid when the job's done just like everyone else. Who's next?"

The freelancer left and Alpha Squad proceeded into the room. The Batarian seemed to take particular notice of Alaara who wasn't wearing a helmet and had chosen to disguise herself with several face tattoos.

"Well, aren't you sweet. You're in the wrong place, honey. Strippers quarters are that way." he said.

Suddenly a gunshot zoomed right past the Batarian's head and impacted on the wall behind him. He was startled by it.

"Shit!" he shouted. He turned to see Sandra with her pistol raised, pointing in the Batarian's direction and with a bit of smoke pouring out of the barrel. She had fired that shot.

"Say that again about my bond mate again and next time I won't miss." Sandra threatened.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry! I was only joking." Said the Batarian.

"I don't hear anyone laughing." Said Austin coldly.

"Anyway, you lot look like you could really pack a heavy punch. Looking for a good fight?" the Batarian asked.

"Sure. If this is the place to go after Archangel." Said Austin.

"This is the place." Said the Batarian. He looked at all the others, slightly puzzled. "Are you all together?" he asked.

"We're a special team of mercenaries. We always work together. Trust me, we'll be worth the price." Said Austin.

"If you say so." Said the Batarian as he went back to his console. "Standard fee is 500 credits each. You'll get paid when the jobs done. If you die, your friends don't collect your share. You'll need your own weapons and armour… looks like you've got that covered. And, No. This does not make a you a member of the Blue Suns, Eclipse, or the Blood Pack. You are a freelancer. Period. Any Questions?"

"Only where do we go?" Austin asked as he cracked his knuckles.

"Just head for transport depot outside the club. One of our boys will take you from there. Send in the next one." Said the Batarian.

Alpha Squad turned to leave as the door opened and a young man stepped in.

"Hey, is this where I sign up?" he asked.

At the mention of the boys voice, both Austin and Griffin turned to look at him.

"You look a little young to be freelancing as a merc." Said Austin.

"I'm old enough." The man objected. "I grew up on Omega. I know how to use a gun."

"You'll need to know more than that if you want to survive. Take it from someone who's been there and done that." Said Griffin.

"I can handle myself. Besides, I just spent 50 credits on this pistol, and I wanna use it!" Said the man as he took out a standard issue SMG.

Griffin suddenly grabbed the gun from the man. "Get your money back!"

"Hey! What do you-" he tried to say.

Griffin took the gun and smashed it several times. "Trust me, kid. You'll thank me later." He said. As he handed the now damaged and unusable gun back to the man.

Alpha Squad left Afterlife and headed outside to the where the Blue Suns merc was waiting for them.

"We're on the mission." Said Austin.

"I hope you're ready. Team Archangel's been annihilating you freelancers." Said the Batarian.

"We're ready." Said Austin.

"Get in." said the Batarian.

* * *

Austin had decided to allow Zaeed to accompany the squad as well. As the small shuttle landed, Alpha Squad disembarked. They were greeted by another Blue Suns Merc.

"It's about time they sent me some people who look like they can actually fight. They tell you what we're up against?" he asked.

"The recruiter was a little vague." Austin replied.

"We wouldn't get many hirers if everyone knew the truth. Team Archangel are held up in a building at the end of the boulevard over there. They've got superior position and the only way in is over a very exposed bridge. It's a killing ground. But they're getting tired, making mistakes. We'll have him soon enough." Said the Batarian.

"We'll get to him. Just point us at that bridge." Said Austin confidently. It was best to make a good first impression.

"I like your attitude, but we've got a plan. You'll be on a distraction team. Head straight over the edge and keep Team Archangel busy so the infiltration team can sneak in behind him." Said the Batarian.

"That's goddammed suicide!" Zaeed laughed.

"Pretty much. But you look like you can handle it. Head up to the third barricade and talk to Sergeant Cathka." Said the Batarian.

"We'll head there then." Said Austin.

"Good idea.

"In's gonna be easy. Out's gonna be a bitch." Said Zaeed.

"Let's find Team Archangel first before we worry about that." Said Austin.

Edi's voice then came through the headsets.

"Shepard, I have scanned the area but I am unable to plot any alternative paths to Team Archangel." She said.

"Guess we're going with the mercs." Said Austin.

"The heavy mechs and gunship possess considerable firepower. Weakening them before leaving will improve your chances." EDI advised.

* * *

The Squad felt a little uneasy amongst all the other merc groups, especially Griffin, Kraan and Sandra. Although it had been many years ago, they still worried that the mercs might recognize them. Merc groups didn't take kindly to their own defecting, especially to the Helldivers.

The first area they proceeded through appeared to be the Eclipse group. Sandra noticed how nervous Alaara was and patted her on the shoulder comfortingly. Leena, who was wearing more armour than the others in order to disguise her Quarian appearance, noticed a datapad nearby.

"Shepard, theres something about that datapad. Think you can distract them?" she asked.

"I'll try." Austin whispered.

Austin noticed the Eclipse leader and began a rather lengthy conversation with the Salarian named Jaroth. Leena meanwhile sneakily snatched the datapad.

_Tarak:  
I've spoken to Garm, and he and his men are on board. Assuming this operation is successful, we can count on high morale and extensive buy-in from the men. From the losses we've already taken, possibility exists that we won't have the men needed to continue on to the next objective. It's clear, though, that none of our organizations would be ready to move on Aria without the assistance of the other two._

_Jaroth._

Leena hid the datapad in a secret compartment inside her suit and sent the contents of it to everyone else, just as Austin had finished speaking with Jaroth.

"They're going after Aria next? That's interesting." Said Ventra.

" _She'd be interested in this."_ Austin thought.

* * *

The team next came across one of the two things they were looking for, the mechs. The Heavy mech in particular was stationary and waiting to be deployed.

"All yours, Leena." Said Austin.

Leena smiled underneath her helmet and went to work on reconfiguring the heavy mechs identify friend foe system. Within a few seconds, the Quarian had finished.

"That should slow them down." She said as she stood back to admire her work.

"Good work, Leena. Next time they activate that, they're in for a nasty surprise." Said Ventra as he patted Leena on the back.

After a small walk through all the rooms that where filled with mercs the squad soon found who they were looking for.

"Cathka?" Austin asked.

Cathka's assistant indicated to another Blue Suns Batarian working on a gunship. The Batarian stood up when he saw Alpha Squad.

"Sergeant Cathka…" he said. He retracted the visor he had on his helmet. "You must be the group Sulki mentioned. You're just in time."

Were you waiting for us?" Austin asked.

"The infiltration team is about to give us the signal. Team Archangel won't know what hit them. Got any questions? This may be your last chance." Said Cathka.

"Are you leading the assault?" Austin asked.

"Ha! Tarak doesn't pay to fight. I just plan the attacks and fix the damn gunship. You freelancers get the privilege of…" Cathka was then interrupted by an incoming message.

"Check. Bravo team, go go go!" Cathka ordered.

Cathka's assistants and a few other of the mercs left the area, leaving only him and Alpha Squad.

"Team Archangel have got quite a surprise waiting for them. But that means no more waiting for me. Gotta get her back to 100% before Tarak decides he needs her again." Said Cathka as he went back to working on the gunship.

Austin then noticed an electric welding tool. That would be perfect. The Helldiver picked it up and walked over to Cathka.

"You're working too hard." He said.

Before Cathka could react to this Austin jammed the tool into the back of the Batarians armour and his whole body violently spasmed as several thousand volts coursed right through him.

Austin casually left the scene and re-joined his Squad.

"Team Archangel doesn't have much time left." Said Ventra as he unholstered his sniper bow.

"What the hell are we waiting for?" said Zaeed.

Several of the mercs leapt over the barricade and started firing at the upper levels of the building were Team Archangel where held up. One of them fired a grenade at them, but their sniper returned fire and landed a headshot on him.

Austin and the others quickly followed and unholstered their preferred weapons.

"Come on. We'll give these guys a surprise of our own." Said Austin as he loaded his Revenant.

They followed the mercs into Team Archangel's base before they executed their plan. As soon as they were in the building they opened fire on the mercs. They tried to make it quick and unnoticeable, but one merc saw it.

"There with Archangel!" he yelled.

He was quickly silenced though when Ventra caught sight of him. Before the merc could even try anything, Ventra loaded his sniper bow, sighted along the path of the bullet and pulled the trigger. The string on the bow released in time with the firing of the shot and it zoomed straight through the merc's helmet and impacted on the wall behind.

The Squad proceeded further up the stairs, guns blazing. Two more mercs where waiting for them, another was trying to hack the door to Team Archangel. Austin shot the second closest merc, Leena short circuited the furthest ones omni tool, and X-5 picked up the closest and smashed his head against the wall.

With all the mercs now having been dealt with for now, Alpha Squad proceeded through the door.

Team Archangel instantly took notice of them and pointed their gun at them. Oddly enough, they appeared to be wearing the same sort of sets of armour that Alpha Squad where wearing as well.

"Team Archangel?" Austin asked.

Team Archangel's leader stepped forward and motioned for his team to put their weapons down.

"I was wondering you would all show up. It's good to see you, Alpha Squad." He said.

All of Alpha Squad looked slightly surprised. How did they know who they were? Austin however was most surprised.

"Hold on, I know that voice…" he said as he lowered his Revenant.

The leader removed his helmet revealing a scarred but happy face.

"Captain Arnold Winchester, at your service, Major. It's damn good to see you again, Austin." He said.

"Arnold! God, it has been so long! You look well." Said Austin as he removed his Death Mask and shook hands with Arnold.

"You know them? Liara asked.

"Yeah. Arnold and I both trained under Zartrack. As for the others, I've worked with Omega squad once before." Austin replied.

"Hang on… Omega Squad?" Dash asked as he tried to suppress a laugh.

"Before you ask, it was pure coincidence." Said a female member of Team Archangel. "We were not chosen for this mission because we share the same name as this place."

"Still working with this loser I see, Catherine." Austin said in a joking manner.

The female solder, Catherine Danvers, removed her helmet and smiled at Austin.

"You look good for someone who's supposed to be dead, Major." She said.

"It's a long story." Said Austin. "So, since when did you start calling yourself Team Archangel?" he asked.

"It's just a name the locals gave us for… all our good deeds. We don't mind it, but please… it's just Omega Squad to you." Said Arnold.

"How'd you know who we were in the first place?" Garrus asked.

"You're not the only one with merc disguises you know. Plus, every Helldiver would know X-5 no matter what he's wearing." Said Arnold.

"You nailed us good a couple of times by the way." Said Ventra as he moved his neck around a bit.

"Concussive rounds only. No harm done. We didn't want the mercs getting suspicious." Said Archangel's sniper.

"Uh-huh." Said Ventra hesitantly.

"If we'd wanted to do more than take your shields down, we'd have done so." Said the sniper.

"Besides, you're taking your sweet time. We need to get moving. No doubt the Arkanes sent you to get us out of here." Said Archangel's heavy.

"Well, we got here, but I don't think getting out will be as easy." Said Austin.

"No it won't. That bridge has saved our lives, funnelling all those witless idiots into scope. But, it works both ways. They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way." Said Winchester.

"So we just sit here and wait for them to come to us?" said Alaara.

"It's not all that bad. This place has held them off so far. And… with all of you we now have a small army. So I suggest that we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defences an take our chances. It's not a perfect plan, but it's a plan." Said Arnold.

"I didn't like sneaking anyway. Time to spill a little merc blood!" said Kraan.

"Let's see what they're up to." Said Garrus as he looked through the scope on his sniper rifle. Ventra and Archangel's sniper did the same.

"Hmm. It looks like they know their infiltration team failed." Said Garrus.

"Scouts. Eclipse, I think." Said the Archangel sniper.

Through their scopes the snipers could see several light mechs jumping over the barricade. Ventra lined his sight up with one of them and took a shot at its head. There was twang of released string and the round blew the mechs head completely apart.

"More than scouts. One less now though." He said as he loaded another round in, pulling the string on his bow back at the same time.

"Indeed." Said Garrus.

"We'd better get ready. This is gonna be one hell of a fight." Said Arnold.

"The Heavy's and Snipers should stay up here. They can do a lot of damage from this vantage point. The rest of us will guard the entrance." Said Austin.

"Just like the good old days, my old friend." Said Arnold.

All the snipers and heavy's stayed on the upper levels while Austin and a few of the others headed back down to the entrance on the lower levels.

"Leena, we need some sentries here! X-5, cover her!" Austin yelled over the sound of gunfire as the mechs and Helldivers let loose their weapons.

X-5 immediately obeyed and got in front of Leena as the Quarian began setting up her famous mobile sentry turrets.

Several of the mechs fired on X-5, but the robot's armour absorbed the shots or repelled them. X-5 returned fire with his machine guns and also his rail gun.

"Oh, I haven't had this much fun in years!" the robot laughed.

The sheer firepower ripped most of the mechs apart before X-5 was eventually forced to stop in order to reload. By that time of course, Leena had finished building two sentry turrets and they were already firing on the mechs. The Quarian stayed behind the cover shield of one of them so that she could monitor the turrets progress and make repairs if necessary. Occasionally though, she would fire a few shots from shoulder cannon, which launched EMP projectiles rather than plasma. Leena preferred to have something more technical, rather than destructive means.

Liara and Alaara meanwhile where using their biotics to their advantage. Liara was better at defence than attack, but Alaara was the opposite. While Liara put up biotic barriers to offer more cover for the others, Alaara used her biotics to attack. She even managed to create a massive biotic implosion which crushed the last few mechs.

After that however, the Eclipse themselves started turning up.

"Heads up, Shepard! They're deploying their troops!" came Griffin's voice.

"Concentrate on the ones that can do the most damage! We'll take care of the rest." Said Austin.

The whole place became of gunfire, biotics, and tech powers as Team Archangel and Alpha Squad held the line.

Ventra finally sniped the last of the first wave of Eclipse. From behind the barricade, Arnold could see Jaroth.

"If you want something done properly…" he said. The Salarian then reached his hand to his ear. "Alright let's see how you handle this, Archangel!"

There was a loud hum of machinery and everyone took this moment to reload their weapons for another fight.

A large hovering loading claw flew over the barricade and dropped a folded up heavy mech.

"Go!" Jaroth ordered.

The Heavy mech activated, unfolded and slowly stood up.

"Online!" it said.

"Damn it! They're sending out the heavy mechs!" Catherine said into her comm.

"That problem should take care of itself." Leena smiled from behind her helmet.

Sure enough, the Heavy mech did a full 360 and opened fire on the Eclipse. All the soldiers where completely unprepared for this and some of them retreated. Using this to their advantage, Alpha Squad resumed their fire on the Eclipse. Despite everything, none of the mercs even got close enough to even have a hope of landing a shot at them.

Eventually Jaroth himself joined the fray and managed to severally damage the mech. Garrus however saw this as an opportunity. He took a deep breath and aimed for the mechs head. Without even a hesitation, he pulled the trigger and the, mechs head exploded.

The Heavy Mech fell to its knees and it began to go unstable again.

"Get down! It's gonna blow!" Austin yelled.

The mech exploded in a large mushroom cloud as Alpha Squad went into cover. Jaroth it seemed got caught in blast, and all that was left of him when the smoke cleared was a charred corpse.

"Looks like that's all of them. Come find us before they regroup." Said Arnold.

Austin and the rest of Alpha Squad headed back up to higher ground where Team Archangel where recovering and resupplying while they had the chance.

"You're kicking ass, Shepard. They barely touched us, and we got Jaroth in the process. We've been hunting that little bastard for months." Said Arnold.

"We've still got the Blood Pack and Blue Suns left. Think we can make a break for it?" Austin asked.

"Maybe. Let's see what they're up to." Said Arnold.

The Helldiver Captain took a small sensor and threw it over the barricades. From inside their suits, the Helldivers could see the outlines of the mercs.

"They've reinforced the other side heavily. But they're not coming over the bridge yet. What are they waiting for?" Arnold asked.

Before anyone could answer, the whole place shook slightly. There was faintest sound of an explosion and an alarm began ringing.

"That didn't sound good." Said Sandra.

Catherine accessed her omni tool and assessed the situation.

"Damn it! They've breached the lower levels!" she said.

"Well, they had to use their brains eventually." Said Archangel's heavy.

"You'd better get down there, Shepard. We'll keep the bridge clear." Said Arnold.

"We didn't come all this way just to let you die!" Griffin objected.

"Griffin's right. Let's spilt up. Keep some of my squad here to help you. No offense, but you don't look in the best condition to fight." Said Austin.

"You sure, Shepard? Who knows what you'll find down there." Said Catherine.

"X-5, Griffin, Kraan, Ventra and Garrus, stay here. Keep Team Archangel alive." Said Austin.

All of the Helldivers that Austin had chosen nodded in acknowledgement.

"Thanks, Shepard. You better get going." Said Arnold.

"We're on our way." Said Austin.

"Go down a level. The basement door's on the west side of the main room behind the stairs. We'll radio directions if you need help, but you have to get down there quick. Good luck." Said Arnold.

* * *

Alpha Squad quickly followed the instructions and found themselves facing two doors on either side, and a shutter.

"Split up! Liara and I will take this one, second team, the one on the left, third team, the one on the right!" Austin ordered.

The Squad split into two teams and headed through each door leaving just Austin and Liara.

"Just you and me, love. Ready?" Austin asked.

"Always!" said Liara.

Both lovers took cover either side of the shutter as Austin hit the button.

"Commencing shut down!"

At that moment, Blood Pack mercs appeared and fired on the two of them. Austin quickly returned fire with his Revenant and Liara threw several biotics at their attackers. Enemy after enemy fell as they were peppered with biotics, SMG fire and Assault rifle fire.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the shutter sealed and Austin and Liara took a moment to catch their breath.

"Oh, I love you." Liara panted.

"I love you too." Said Austin.

At that moment, the rest of Alpha Squad re-joined them.

"Shutter's sealed. The Blood Pack won't be getting in for a while." Said Alaara.

At that moment however, Austin's omni tool beeped and holographic image of Garrus appeared.

* * *

"Get back here, Shepard! They're coming in through the door." Said Garrus.

At the same moment, Garrus could see a spark moving down the door seal and several blood pack troopers came through led by the Krogan, Garm.

"Raaah! Rip them to shreds!" he ordered.

Just as he finished speaking however, a Vorcha next to him was shot straight in the head. Garm looked up to see Garrus reloading his sniper.

"Watch my back. I'll deal with Team Archangel." Garm ordered.

Some of the Vorcha snarled in acknowledgement only for several more shots to gun them down. Austin and the others had returned and they all had their guns at the ready. There was also another Krogan with Garm who charged at them. Kraan however quickly noticed and jumped down just at the right moment. As the ex-Blood Pack Krogan landed on his target his shear weight caused the other Krogan's neck to snap as he fell to the floor.

The rest of the Vorcha put up quite a fight but ultimately fell in the end. Garm however was far tougher. Not only was unaffected by pain due to a redundant nervous system that all Krogan had, but he also had a biotic barrier which was doubling his shields. What the Krogan didn't count on however was Alaara and Liara combining their powers together. The warp tore Garm's barriers apart in seconds.

X-5 then saw this as an opening and unloaded his guns into Garm. The Krogan was thrown right across the room and pinned against the wall by the sheer power of X-5's guns. Tons of blood painted the walls and the floor as each round tore through his armour. The Krogan lay dead in a pool of his own blood.

Alpha Squad quickly regrouped with Team Archangel.

"Thanks for the help, Shepard. They hardly got through to us, and we took out Garm and his Blood Pack. This day just gets better and better. He was one tough son of a bitch" said Arnold.

"Only the Blue Suns are left. I say we take our chances and fight our way out." Said Austin.

"I think he's right, Captain." Said Catherine.

"I agree. Tarak's got the toughest group, but nothing we haven't faced before. Besides, he won't be expecting us to meet him head on in…" but Arnold was interrupted by the sound of a window smashing. Through the hole they could see the gunship. It was flying. It still looked badly damaged though. Clearly, disabling Cathka had done the job. The drop ship could still do damage though.

"Get to cover!" Austin yelled as everyone sought cover from the gunship's fire.

"I thought we took that thing out already!" Catherine shouted over all the noise.

"They fixed it, but not completely. I made sure of that." Said Austin.

At that moment, Blue Suns troopers dropped from the gunship through the open window.

"They're offloading troops! Watch your back, Shepard!" Arnold called as he and Alpha Squad opened fire.

The Blue Suns troops fell within seconds. For a long time all was silent.

"They don't just give up that easily. They'll be back." Said Catherine.

Suddenly, they head the sound of Thrusters again. The Gunship reappeared.

"Archangel!" came a voice. It was Tarak! "You think you can screw with the Blue Suns?"

Catherine whirled around just as the gunship fired on her. Most of the shots missed her, but some managed to hit her armour. With her suit damaged, Catherine crawled into cover out of line of fire. However she failed to notice that the drop ship had lowered itself so that the rockets were in line with her.

"This ends now!" said Tarak as the rocket fired.

"Look out!" Garrus yelled.

Just in time, the Turian pushed Catherine out of way. But Garrus wasn't fast enough to avoid the rocket himself and it impacted very close to his face sending him flying and rendering him unconscious on the floor.

"Garrus!" Austin called as he managed to make his way over to the down Turian. Ventra did the same and checked for a pulse while avoiding fire from the gunship.

"He's unconscious, but still alive!" said Ventra.

"Right, let's finish this!" Austin said coldly.

"Enemies go boom, Sir?" Griffin asked in a joking manner as he fired on the gunship.

"No. Enemies go kaboom!" Kraan roared as he fired a massive charged shot from his dual plasma cannons.

The gunship exploded as the plasma impacted on it. With all the danger now over, Alpha Squad quickly rushed over to their fallen comrade. There was now a worryingly large amount of blue blood pooling from Garrus's face.

"We need to get him back to the ship, quickly!" Austin ordered.

"Come on buddy! You're not gonna die on us now!" said Ventra as he helped pick Garrus up.

"Radio Joker! Make sure they're ready for us!" said Austin.

* * *

All of Alpha Squad where gathered in the comm room. They had just finished their report to the Arkanes who had been very grateful that Omega Squad had been rescued. Right now though, whether the Arkanes where happy or not was the least of their concerns. Garrus was still in the med bay being treated by Dr. Chakwas.

Finally the doors opened and Ventra walked in.

"How is he?" Leena asked worriedly.

"We've done all we could, but he took a bad hit." Said Ventra.

All of the Squad bowed their heads slightly in sadness. They were braced for the inevitable. Austin, didn't really know how to respond. He ultimately just resorted to hugging Liara who looked like she might shed a tear for her friend.

"The Doc's corrected with surgical procedures and some cybernetics. Best we can tell, he'll have full functionality, but…" said Ventra. But he was interrupted by the doors opening again. To everyone's surprise, the stood Garrus. Clearly injured, but alive.

"Shepard." He said happily.

All of Alpha Squad clapped and cheered as Garrus walked into the room. Some even shook hands with him. Austin and Liara both smiled. Austin was still a bit concerned though. The entire right side of Garrus's face was burnt and very badly scarred. He had a bandage of some sorts over most of it, but it still looked painful.

"Tough son of a bitch! Didn't think you'd be up yet!" said Ventra happily as he thumped Garrus warmly on the back.

"Nobody would give me a mirror. How bad is it?" Garrus asked.

"No worse than usual, buddy." Said Ventra.

"Hell Garrus! You were always ugly. Slap some face paint on there, and no one will even notice." Austin smiled.

Garrus and some of the others couldn't help but laugh at this.

"Ha-agh! Oh, don't make laugh. Damn it! My face is barely holding together as it is." Said Garrus. "Still, it's probably for the best. Everyone was always ignoring you and hitting on me. Time for you to get a fair shot at it."

At that moment the door opened again and Arnold stepped in. He was now no longer in the merc armour and had swapped it for his proper Helldiver armour.

Arnold hadn't done much to his armour. Some of the noticeable things he had done though was replace the right arm with a massive gauntlet arm that was painted red. Like Griffin, he also had a skull image painted onto his visor. All the other bits where pretty much the default stuff that all Helldiver armour had.

"Good to see you're okay, Vakarian." He said. He then turned to Austin. "I need to speak to you and Garrus… in private." He said.

Austin nodded and the rest of Alpha Squad left the room. Liara paused briefly to give Austin a kiss before she too left. Arnold then turned to the two of them and retracted his helmet.

"First off, I wanted to thank you for coming to get us, Austin. I don't know how much longer my squad might have lasted out there." Said Arnold.

"Don't thank me, thank the Arkane Council. They're the ones who gave us the orders to rescue you." Said Austin.

"Still, it'd be rude of me not to thank you, old friend." Arnold smiled. He then turned to Garrus. "I owe you a very personal debt, Garrus. You risked your life to save one of my squad… and for that I am truly grateful."

"Thank you, Captain. How are your squad doing?" Garrus asked.

"They're recovering, but they're fine. They all think you're a damn hero for what you did. In fact, if it where up to me I'd recommend you for a medal. My Squad mean a lot to me, especially Catherine. She and I are… very close." Said Arnold.

"Just doing my job, Captain. I'm just glad that she's alright. She might not have been as lucky as me if I hadn't intervened." Said Garrus.

"So what's next for you, Arnold?" Austin asked.

"We've booked passage on another ship back to Arkadia. After that, we'll probably be reassigned back to recon missions. Something I'll be very glad of. My squad have been through a lot on Omega, I think they'll be happy to go back to their old work." Said Arnold.

"Good luck to you then, Arnold." Said Austin.

"You too, Austin. If anyone can take down the Collectors, it's you." Said Arnold as he took his leave and left the comm room. Austin then turned back to Garrus.

"Are you sure you're okay, Garrus? That does look very painful." Austin asked as he indicated to the scars.

"Really, I'm fine, Shepard. At the very worst, it just stings a lot. Dell said I was very lucky. My helmet took the worst damage, in fact he said if I hadn't been wearing it, I would've probably lost my face." Said Garrus.

"You did good out there, Garrus. I'm very proud of what you did." Austin smiled.

Garrus smiled back and the two shook hands.

"I'm fit for duty whenever you need me, Shepard. If you need me, I'll be seeing what I can do with the forward batteries." Said Garrus.

* * *

Austin headed into the CIC to plot the next course. He noticed that Kelly had a rather concerned expression her face.

"How is Garrus doing? His injuries looked painful." She asked.

"He's fine, but I do worry about him. He's been through a lot, and not just physically." Said Austin.

"There's something about him. I just want to hold him close and whisper "It will be all right." Said Kelly.

"Are you attracted to other species?" Austin asked. Austin guessed that was a stupid question since she served on a Helldiver vessel. Only groups like Cerberus would think differently.

"Well, part of my job is predicting the motives and feelings of humans and aliens. Intimacy brings understanding. And passion is nice wherever you find it. Character matters, not race or gender." Said Kelly.

"I'm glad you think so, Kelly. Anyway, is there anything important I should know?" Austin asked.

"You have new message at your terminal, Major. It looked like an important one." Said Kelly.

"Talk to you later, Kelly." Said Austin.

"Always nice chatting with, Shepard." Said Kelly as she went back to her work.

Austin walked up to his terminal and read the message. It looked like it was from Aria. Apparently, she had something that she wanted him to take care of. Seemed odd that she would call him, but it wouldn't hurt to have a look.

* * *

**Next chapter will involve Patriarch, the datapad from the mercs and Aria showing her real gratitude towards Shepard. Aria fans, keep an eye out. The next chapter might just be up your street.**


	9. Chapter 9, Aria's Gratitude

**Right, here we are at last! Sorry this one took so long to write.**

**Nothing more to say other than, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

**Aria's Gratitude**

Austin had gone alone on this one since this business with Aria was nothing critical. He had told the rest of the crew he would just be attending to some business and had told them to do a bit of shopping for supplies if they could find any. Omega wasn't well known for being the most stocked.

Since he was technically off duty, Austin wasn't wearing his Helldiver armour and was instead dressed in an off-duty spacer outfit so that h would blend in with the rest of the environment. He also didn't have to worry about his scars drawing attention since many people had similar sorts of things here and Omega had no laws or rules, so it wasn't like he'd be questioned about things like that.

The message from Aria had told Austin to speak to one of Aria's bodyguards, a Turian named Grizz.

"Aria has a job she needs doing. You up for some work?" the Turian asked.

"That depends on what Aria has in mind." Said Austin.

"Aria's gotten word that some Blood Pack mercs plan to kill an old acquaintance of hers. A Krogan named Patriarch. She'd like you to keep that from happening." Said Grizz.

"Why come to me? Aria's usual muscle not up for the job?" Austin asked.

"Because Aria said so. What other reason do you need?" Grizz replied.

"People like Aria don't do things without a damn good reason. I want to hear it." Said Austin forcefully.

"Fine. But I didn't tell you this. Got me?" said Grizz. "If it gets out that Aria's protecting Patriarch… well, that can look like a weakness. And some people might want to exploit that. You're not on her payroll, so you helping Patriarch just seems like a random act of kindness." Said Grizz.

"Alright, I'll look into it." Said Austin.

"Good. Patriarch's downstairs, likely surrounded by his "fans." Get him into hiding until the mercs move on. Come back here when it's done, and you'll get your due. Who knows, Aria might even be more generous than you think." Said Grizz.

"I'll be back when the job is done." Said Austin.

"Good luck." Said Grizz.

* * *

Afterlife it seemed had a second part to it. This club was slightly smaller. Of course it still had a bar and plenty of Asari dancers. Austin soon found the area he was looking for. It was a small secluded room far away from the other things.

Austin could see only one Krogan. He guessed this had to be Patriarch. The Krogan appeared to be addressing a very small audience of one Asari and one Turian.

"No. You said he had close family. They'll just want revenge. Kill the family first. Then he'll get angry and come at you stupid… and then you kill him." Said Patriarch. The Krogan then took notice of Austin.

"I don't think I know you, human. I'm the Patriarch. Aria's Patriarch. What do you want?" he asked.

"Some people want you dead. I've been asked to move you to safety." Said Austin.

"Of course. Aria wouldn't want me hurt. T would make her look bad." Said Patriarch. He turned to his listeners and dismissed them. "But perhaps Aria's reputation is no longer my concern. Perhaps I will stay, and see who thinks me important enough to kill."

"Here's an idea: Let me handle the assassins for you." Austin suggested.

"And so your name grows while I remain an old man who lets others fight his battle." Said Patriarch crossly.

"No, you remain a powerful warlord with forces at his command. Not just Aria's trophy." Said Austin.

"You could… you could be my krantt. Fighting for my honor. If you would do this for me, I would be grateful. I might even be a Krogan again." Said Patriarch.

* * *

Austin left the bar and headed for the exit. As the door opened however he found himself facing two Blood Pack mercs.

"Out of our way, human!" one of them said.

"You here for Patriarch?" said Austin.

"What if we are? You gonna do something about it?" one of the thugs threatened.

"Yeah. Patriarch sent me. Said to do whatever it takes." Said Austin as he drew his Phalanx pistol from where he'd had it concealed. He also activated his right omni blade.

"You? You're Patriarch's krantt? I wasn't aware the old man had one!" said one of the thugs.

"You should've done your homework." Said Austin.

One of the thugs activated his flame thrower but Austin avoided the flames and shot the Krogan right in the crotch several times. Before the other one could react in time, Austin slashed him across the neck with his omni blade. With his work done, Austin reported back to Patriarch.

"You killed them all! And everyone knows that the Patriarch is not to be crossed." said the Krogan happily as he banged his fists together. "Thanks to you, Aria may think of me as more than a trophy. A real advisor, maybe. Or even a threat."

"Take care, Patriarch." Said Austin.

"For the first time, I like that name." said Patriarch. "By the way, be careful with Aria. She will approve of what you've done, I think, but not of you altering the balance of Omega. I think it reminds her too much of herself."

* * *

Austin proceeded back to Aria's booth. Grizz instructed him to speak with Aria herself.

"Word has it that Patriarch's krantt took out the men sent here to kill him. Funny, I didn't think he had a krantt." Said Aria.

"Patriarch has more influence than you thought." Said Austin as he folded his arms.

"I see. Well. Maybe I should watch my back, then." Said Aria. The Queen of Omega didn't seem intimidated at all by this. "It's now what I asked… but you got the job done." She said as she indicated to the seat next to her.

"Do you need something else?" she asked as Austin sat down.

"Yes. I have something for you. This datapad was on one of the mercs that was after Team Archangel. They were coming for you next." Said Austin as he took out the datapad he'd collected from the Eclipse.

"Let me see." Said Aria as she took the datapad and read it. "Interesting."

She then threw it at one of her guards. Rather funnily, it was the same one that Austin had punched when he'd first arrived here. The Batarian had a bit of a bruise on his head and a black eye.

"Would someone like to tell how this information slipped the net?" said Aria crossly as the datapad hit the Batarian in the face.

"I… I'll look into it." The Batarian stuttered.

"You've done a lot for me, Shepard. Let me return the favour." Said Aria gratefully. "We're sending you coordinates to a cache on an uncharted world. You want it, it's yours." She said.

"I'm not looking for payment from you." Said Austin.

"Look at you. So proud." Aria smiled slyly. "At least accept this too."

Aria clicked her fingers and one of the Asari dancers came forward holding a tray containing two glasses of what looked like Asari wine.

"You're letting me have a drink with you? I had no idea you where that generous." Said Austin as Aria took one of the glasses. The dancer then offered the other to him and he took it. Austin was a cautious man though, and he sniffed it just to be sure.

"I'm not trying to poison you, Shepard. I don't believe in tricking people." Said Aria.

"Alright. If you say so." Said Austin. "Cheers."

"Cheers." Aria repeated.

The two clinked their glasses together and drank. The wine had a very sweet taste to it, and it made Austin seem very peaceful.

Aria smiled slyly when Austin drank all the wine.

"Now, why don't you come with me? I have something else I think you'll like." She said.

"Of… course." Austin struggled to reply. Somehow, he felt himself going along with it. He felt different somehow. More confident than usual, and he knew this wasn't like him. Something wasn't right. Somehow though, a more dominant part of his mind was in control here, so he couldn't really ponder it.

After a short walk through the club Aria walked straight to a wall, she pressed on a specific spot, coloured slightly different. The spot turned out to be a panel, lifting itself up into the wall, revealing a small console. Aria turned around staring down Shepard. He quickly got the hint and turned around. Aria punched her code in and the door revealed itself. Hidden seamlessly into the wall.

"Come in." Her aura was strong.

The room was rather large. Full of expensive art on the walls. A very large bed clearly able to hold at least 3 people, a stripping pole and an insanely comfortable looking sofa. He placed his hand of the fabric, it was really smooth…

" _I need to buy something like this._ " He thought.

The room was also full of some kind of purple mist. It suited the area though.

Aria then suddenly turned Austin around and pushed him down onto the sofa.

"What… what are you doing?" Austin asked very slowly. He felt very weak, but at the same time he wasn't tired. He was fully awake. It was almost as if he wasn't in control.

"As I said, you've done a lot for me, so it would be rude of me not to repay you in some way. Since you don't think much of the cache, it seems you want a different sort of reward, and I will admit you've interested me greatly since we met. You're so strong, tough, and at the same time very my type." Said Aria.

To Austin surprise she then slid her arms up his legs and very close to crotch. She noticed a bulge slowly forming the closer she got. She smiled slyly.

"Looks like the little thing I gave you in your drink is doing the trick." She said.

"You drugged my drink?" Austin asked.

"How else was I to get you in bed? You Helldivers are always a bit… secluded." Aria replied.

She then stood back up and undid the clasps on the chest portion of her outfit. It fell away revealing her surprisingly large breasts. Her nipples where already very erect.

"We shouldn't…" Austin tried to say. It was then that he noticed that he and Aria weren't alone in here. Out of the shadows emerged several Asari dancers, each one of them staring at him and Aria with lust in their eyes.

It all made sense now. Aria had obviously slipped some kind of Pheromone drug into his drink and the whole room was now filled with Pheromone dust so that he'd go along with this. At this point however he was far too aroused to care.

"Are you honestly going to decline all this?" Aria asked seductively as the other dancers approached her.

"I suppose not." Austin said drearily. He really didn't feel himself now, but he was so aroused by all the pheromones that he didn't care now.

"I thought as much." Aria smiled. She then turned to the dancers. "Enjoy the show for now, girls. You'll have you own fun soon, but at the moment he's mine." She said.

With that, Aria brought Austin over to the massive bed and pushed him down onto it. As she did, she locked her lips onto his and kissed him furiously. This took Austin by surprise but he quickly eased into the kiss.

Aria then briefly broke the kiss in order to remove a bit more of the top portion of her outfit. It truly did leave nothing to the imagination. Unable to help himself, Austin latched his mouth onto one of Aria's breasts and began suckling on them. They a tiny bit larger than Liara's so they were quite a handful.

Aria moaned her approval as Austin's rather skilled tongue played with her nipples.

"You've done this before, Shepard." She said.

Austin didn't say anything and just continued sucking Aria's breasts.

Some of the dancers where now getting slightly aroused by the sight of their Queen having her tits played with. Some of them where touching themselves very gently, others where nuzzling against one another, and some even groping one another as they watched Aria arch her back in passionate enjoyment.

Aria then pushed Austin back down onto the bed and hastily helped remove his jacket, exposing his muscular chest.

"What a soldier!" she heard one of the dancers moan.

Aria couldn't help but smile at this. The pheromones affected them as much as they affected Shepard. She'd taken something so that it wouldn't affect her as much, but still allowed her arousal to climb.

Aria then stood up on the bed and finished stripping herself completely until she was completely naked in front of the Helldiver lying below her, and the other dancers all giggling slightly at their nude Queen.

Aria then knelt down at Austin's legs and began unzipping his trousers.

"Now, let's see what you're packing in here." Said the purple Asari.

The Helldiver couldn't help but smile at this. It did take Aria a few seconds to figure out how to get the trousers off, but once she did, she found it to be worth the effort. Austin's cock sprang to full attention, already dripping with a bit of pre cum and swaying gently with every heartbeat. Aria smiled at the sight of it and the other dancers gasped slightly.

"That's a big one!" he heard one of them say. The others giggled slightly.

Aria motioned for the dancers to be silent and turned back to Austin. The Helldiver still seemed very dreary. The drug would last another several hours. More than long enough for her to have a lot of fun with him.

"What do you want? Tell me what you want." She said.

"Blowjob." Austin muttered.

Aria laughed slightly. "Careful! I bite." She smiled evilly.

His grin didn't falter. "I like a challenge." He said boldly.

Aria grinned at his comment. He certainly was a very bold human. The only person she'd even known that could compare to him would probably be herself. Any other people she'd known, or any lovers she'd known had been nowhere near as confident or bold as him. She'd certainly enjoy this, even if it was just a fling.

"I'm going to enjoy this. **We're** going to enjoy this." She said. The other dancers muttered excitedly to one another as Aria wrapped her fingers around the root of Austin's cock, before lowering her head and breathing hotly against the sensitive tip.

Austin moaned rather loudly as Aria sucked greedily. Obviously she had hundreds of years of experience with this sort of things so she knew how to give pleasure quickly. He was thick enough to make it uncomfortable for, to make her jaw ache, but Aria liked nothing that didn't challenge her.

The Asari took a deep breath and plunged forward, taking him deep, until the hair on his balls tickled her chin. Pushes further, flattening her nose against his abdomen. Austin's hand came down on top of her head, pushing her back briefly, pauses to let her breathe, then his hips began to move, pushing his cock deep inside her mouth again. She reached up for his balls and stroked and squeezed them lightly, using that grip to direct his movements, pulling him in, deep down her throat, then pushing him out to let her breathe and lap at his tip with her tongue. Slowly at first, then faster, until there is no pause between his thrusts.

The dancers had now got even more aroused and many of them had now shed their outfits. Austin noticed that the one that had tattoos had them in more than places than just on their faces. Some had them on their breasts, their stomachs, and even on their legs. Austin could see their stripper outfits hid those parts. Austin could see how aroused many of the dancers where from how wet they were. Some were even kissing and groping each other. Some were even fingering themselves.

Aria finally released Austin's cock from her mouth in order to catch. She smiled as she panted for breath, her large chest heaving with each breath. She then slowly crawled up Austin as she motioned for the dancers to finish undressing him.

"Show time, Girls!" she grinned as she planted a kiss on Austin's lips.

The Dancers that where still clothed immediately obeyed and stripped out of there outfits.

Aria quickly mounted Austin and the rest of the dancers joined her on the bed. Aria quickly plunged her pussy down on Austin's cock as the dancer who seemed to have the most tattoos started grinding her pussy against his face.

Aria moaned loudly as she began rocking her hips back and forward, her tight vaginal walls massaging his cock invitingly every time she lowered herself back down, and then griping to him like a vice every time she lifted back up. She then intertwined her hands with the Dancer who was currently having her pussy licked by Austin and engaged in a very. She squealed in pleasure as Austin hit her erogenous zone perfectly, pushing her into an orgasm and she came all over Austin's face.

Aria's insides contracted as another orgasm pulled through her body, her insides gripping the meat stick stuffed inside her. Austin grunted as he felt her walls come down on every inch of his member. His body briefly losing strength at the intense pleasure running through his entire body.

The tattooed Asari got off of Austin as she slowly came down from her orgasm. Aria meanwhile remained on top of Austin for a little while as she savoured the feeling of her orgasm. She could also tell that Austin was still a bit far off from his own, but she and her girls would make quick work of that.

"FFuck…" Austin groaned.

He grabbed a firm hold on the asari and slowly pulled back out. He slowly went back in, thrusting the last few inches hard inside her. Aria moaned loudly every time his cock hit her cervix with force, her insides gripping him tight all along the shaft, Austin's pleasure reaching highs every time he pulled back to start a new thrust.

As he did, Aria latched her mouth onto his and the two engaged in a rather fierce kiss, both their tongues entangling with one another.

The Dancers meanwhile where just following procedure for now. Until their Queen told them otherwise they were simply moving their hands across any part of either Aria or Austin, whoever they could get their hands on. Occasionally though, they would pause to group and kiss each other. They were after all aroused beyond belief. The tattooed one was even furiously rubbing her pussy as she watched the massive cock disappear in and out of Aria's soaked Azure.

"You're quite tight." Austin groaned. "Bit surprising."

"Only very special people get the pleasure of having me. You're even luckier that I'm letting my girls join in the fun. Especially, Elraa." Aria panted in between thrusts.

Elraa was the tattooed Asari who was currently plunging a finger in and out of her pussy as she continued watching Aria bounce up and down on Austin's cock. She did smile though as Aria mentioned her name. She was Aria's favourite and most respected dancer. She was often the one that sought to people who Aria saw as being more worthy than others. It was rare though that she and the other Asari where invited to have a massive orgy with her as well. For them, it was a dream come true, for Elraa though, it was heaven. She loved Aria in fact, but lacked the confidence to say it out load since she knew that Aria would probably say that she had no time for love.

The sounds of sex and moans were the only thing filling this room. The sounds of the music and the people outside almost seemed like they stopped and left. Austin could feel the cum slowly creeping up his cock, Aria's grip on his member felt like she was getting tighter and tighter with every thrust, both were reaching new levels.

"I'm close!" Austin grunted as he sped up the speed of thrusting just a bit more.

"Give him a hand, Elraa." Aria grinned as Austin massaged her breasts and sat up slightly to suck on them.

Elraa smiled and began stroking Austin's cock, even though it was still disappearing in and out of Aria's pussy. For a moment, Austin pulled out fully so that the tattooed Asari could stroke him properly.

Austin moaned as Elraa gripped his dick tightly and stroked him several times. He went rock hard instantly. After several hard strokes from Elraa's hand, Austin was ready to cum. Elraa noticed this and pushed Austin back into Aria's pussy.

Both screamed as Austin released a torrent of cum inside her womb. Aria gripped his cock so hard he couldn't pull out.

Both Aria and Austin took very deep breaths as they recovered from the feeling.

Austin finally pulled out and Elraa once again took his cock in her hand and stroked it a few times. The other dancers moved in and started to get way more intimate with him. Some of them kissed him on the face, some of them licked various parts of his body, especially his chest, and one even willingly offered her tits to him. The Helldiver didn't decline.

Meanwhile, Aria had lowered herself back down to Austin's shaft and had once again taken it in her hands. Just as she started licking the tip, Elraa joined her too. They both smiled to one another and joined in with one another.

The two Asari were doing nothing but torturing him with their mouths. Austin's massive cock stood proudly at attention as Aria and Elraa wrapped their lips around his cock, flicking their tongues over the pulsing head. Aria was lower, focusing on his hefty sack, while Elraa sucked the shaft dry of her Queen's juices and cum.

"Oh God!" Austin moaned as the sensation of two Asari sucking his cock at the same time proved too much for him. Elraa let his cock pop out of her mouth and she and Aria both opened wide for the imminent cum shot.

The two Asari where quite amazed by how much cum the Helldiver was giving. Austin trully was a remarkable man. Massive gallons of cum shot out and bathed the two Asari's faces as Elraa and Aria savoured the sensation. After a long moment, Austin collapsed on the bed, exausted.

"Oh, wow! I love humans!" said Elraa.

Austin then made a very bold move and flipped Aria over. He then lined his cock up with her rear entrance. Before he could thrust in however, Aria grabbed him and pushed him away.

"Don't! No one get's in there!" she said harshly.

"She'll only ever let her true love in there." Said Elraa. "But you can do me!" she said as she spread her ass cheeks apart revealing her puckered hole.

"It'll do." Austin smiled as he stroked himself a few times and grabbed Elraa's ass.

"Go on then, Helldiver. Fuck me! I want it all!" Elraa encouraged him.

At first, Austin was met with resistance as he thrust forward. Despite his cock still being wet from being in the mouths of Elraa and Aria, it took a while to work the head in and out of the Asari.

After a bit of pushing effort, Austin's hips finally met with Elraa's.

"Ooooh, Goddess!" Elraa screamed. In all her years of working with Aria she'd never had anyone fill her up this much.

For a moment Austin was unable to move. Elraa was incredibly tight, despite how many people she must've bedded, human or otherwise. Soon the two settled into a slow but steady pace as Austin thrust in and out of Elraa's tight rear. Austin thrust as much as he could but he ultimately couldn't get the whole of his length in. Elraa was just too tight.

Elraa moaned loudly into the mattress as she thrust back against Austin's thrusts. Austin too moaned his approval.

"Oh Goddess, Harder!" Elraa screamed.

At the same time, some of the dancers where joining in the fun. One of them had slid under Elraa and was kissing her while groping her tits. Another had also got under the tattooed Asari and was licking her pussy as she watched Austin's shaft slide in and out. One other was knelt behind Austin and had her hands on his hips as she helped control his thrusting. Aria meanwhile was rubbing her pussy as she watched the sight.

"Oh God! I'm gonna cum again!" Austin groaned through gritted teeth.

He pulled out of Elraa and stroked his cock vigorously. Aria was the first to lie down in front of Austin as the other dancers did the same as they awaited Austin's final cum shot before the drug wore off and Aria would have one last thing to do before Austin left.

Austin roared as he reached the point beyond stopping. His cock jerked in his hand as it completely exploded and a massive spurt of cum shot out. All the Asari moaned in sheer delight at the feeling of the cum spurts landing on them. Just as the last of the cum left Austin's shaft, Aria grabbed it in her hand and sucked and liked the last of the cum off his penis.

"Phew! I needed that!" Austin panted.

"Remember, don't fuck with Aria?" Aria laughed as she took Austin's face in her hands.

"I don't see Garka trying to toss him out of the airlock." Elraa laughed as she groped Aria's rack.

Aria's eyes went black as she initiated the very brief meld. Finding the memory she needed, she extracted it from his head so that he would no longer remember any of this. Aria knew that if Austin knew what he had done, the consequences for her could be severe. She had never messed with Helldivers before.

"Dress him back up and put him in my booth. I'll handle the rest." Aria ordered as she began putting her outfit back on.

* * *

Austin awoke to the sound of loud music. He found he was on his side on a comfortable chair. As he slowly opened his eyes he could see Aria looking down at him.

"What… what happened? Why have I got such a headache?" he asked groggily as he sat up, rubbing his throbbing head.

"You probably had a bit too much of that wine I gave you." Said Aria as Austin stood up. He looked at the time.

"Oh dear! I better get back before everyone starts getting worried." Said Austin.

Austin left quickly without even saying goodbye. Not that Aria blamed him. As the Helldiver left, Elraa appeared out of the Shadows and walked up to Aria's booth. Because Elraa was currently off-duty, she was dressed in a normal Asari commando outfit. When she was working though, she always wore a different outfit to the other dancers. Hers was black and more revealing that the others enabling her various white tattoos to be shown.

"Well?" the dancer asked.

"He doesn't remember." Said Aria. "And even if he does, I doubt he'll do much."

"Can we expect this again one day?" Elraa asked as she sat down next to her secret lover.

"I doubt it. He has a bond mate." Said Aria.

"Oh well. It was fun while it lasted." Said Elraa as she took a sip of some of the wine that Austin and Aria had been drinking earlier.

* * *

Miranda Lawson proceeded down the long hallways of the ship she was on. She had recently found some useful Intel that Shadow would be interested, given her desire for revenge on the Helldiver. Miranda could not say that she was expecting Shadow to smile for once. Shadow was always angry, never showing any gratitude when one of them did well, and always pushing them. It reminded Miranda of her father.

The Cerberus operative arrived at the door that led to Shadow's quarters. She didn't bother knocking. If Shadow didn't want to be disturbed, she should've said so.

The doors opened and Miranda found herself inside a rather a surprisingly tidy room. She'd expected it to be a mess due to Shadow's temper and anger. Obviously she was getting better at it, or she was slowly calming down. That didn't mean however that her attitude towards her or the crew would improve. The Phantom knew that she commanded the loyalty of her crew through fear. In fact she herself had once said, "If I don't disembowel someone every now and then, they forget who I am."

Miranda could see that Shadow was at her desk. She was sat in the chair and was currently sleeping with her head laid down. Her right arm was hidden under the desk while her left was fully visible. She had a knife in it. This was one of the five knifes that she attached to her hand.

"Azula? Jacob and I have been thinking that there may be a way of drawing Shepard to us, rather than us hunting for him. This datapad might…" said Miranda as she placed the datapad on the desk. As she did however, Shadow's left hand moved with lighting fast movements and she stabbed the datapad several times with her knife until it shorted out.

Shadow groaned slightly and slowly raised her head up. This was the first time that Miranda had seen the Phantom without her helmet.

Shadow had short jet black hair. It was rather badly cut however; Miranda guessed though that this was because Shadow had done this herself. She had a burn mark on her left cheek and also severe burns all down her left arm. At the moment, Shadow was only wearing some trousers and a tank top, leaving her arms visible, apart from her right wrist which was hidden under the desk.

Shadow blinked several times before staring up at Miranda. Shadow had lost her right eye many years ago. Unlike some however who resorted to wearing an eye patch, Shadow had replaced hers with a blue cybernetic one which glowed.

"I was dreaming, Lawson… of Shepard." Shadow groaned.

"When have you never?" said Miranda. This came as no surprise to her seeing as how much Shadow wanted the Helldiver dead.

Shadow slowly sat up and took a sip from a nearby bottle of Asari wine.

"And in my dream… I was rather surprisingly… full of forgiveness." She said.

She then lifted her right arm from under the table. From there, it revealed one of the two primary reasons as to why Shadow wanted revenge.

"I thanked Shepard, for cutting off my arm." She said.

Miranda shivered when she saw the injury. She had read the reports of how Shepard had severed Shadow's arm, but up till now she had never seen it in person. Whenever she had seen Shadow, the Phantom had always had her cybernetic arm attached and in some cases had it concealed in her armour. This time however, Shadow didn't have the injury covered and Miranda could see the extent of the cybernetics. Her arm had been severed just below the elbow, leaving a small part of her wrist still there. The very end had been cauterized and a cybernetic socket had been placed over the wound so that she could attach her new arm into place. Shadow often removed it when she slept though as she would always find it uncomfortable if she accidently ended up sleeping on the arm.

Miranda couldn't help but notice that the cybernetics where not 100% perfect. In fact it looked as though the process was half finished. A lot of the flesh where the arm joined the socket looked like it was infected slightly and various small strands of flesh seemed to wrap around part of the socket. There were also several gaps in Shadow's arm showing just how far the cybernetics went into her arm. It was not a pleasant sight.

"And for giving me this fine arm, for disembowelling and ripping out hearts… and other such homely uses." Said Shadow as she picked up the detached arm and fixed it onto the socket. Shadow then started fixing several screws into place. As she tightened them up she winced. Even Miranda could see that it was clearly painful.

"Doesn't that hurt?" she asked.

"Pain can be controlled, Lawson. Besides, I've had lots of time to get used to this arm. It has many fine advantages." Said Shadow as she finished the last bolt. There was faint humming sound as the arm powered up. A few blue neon lights on the arm activated and Shadow flexed the arm several times by moving the fingers and rotating the wrist to make sure it worked and functioned properly.

The arm's design was actually rather elegant. Most of the arms internal workings where covered by plates. Thanks to all these coverings it looked more human than machine like.

"Sounds like Shepard did you a favour." said Miranda. She had a feeling that the comment trod on Shadow's territory slightly.

"A favour? That Helldiver severed my arm, he humiliated me in front of my own friends, and he gave me these scars." Said Shadow coldly as she approached Miranda.

The fingers and thumb on Shadow's cybernetic arm seemed to grow. Upon closer inspection Miranda could see that they were in fact knives.

"You call that a favour?" Shadow shouted as she pushed Miranda against the wall and plunged her claws around Miranda's head. The Cerberus operative flinched slightly at this. Miranda wasn't afraid to stand up to Shadow, but the Phantom did often scare her.

"No. No." Miranda quickly corrected as she did her best to hide her fright.

Shadow dislodged her knifes from the wall and noticed a strand of Miranda's hair hanging loose. Using one of her knifed fingers she gently pushed the strand aside so that it re-joined the rest of Miranda's hair.

"Thank you." Miranda managed to say.

"You're just lucky that you've proven useful. If it wasn't for that, I'd have killed you by now." Said Shadow as she turned her back to Miranda and walked up to a nearby bowl of steaming liquid designed for cleaning her knifes and her arm.

"So that is why you want him dead so much?" Miranda asked.

"I don't expect you to understand. You wouldn't anyway." Said Shadow as she dipped her arm into the liquid. There was a faint hissing sound due to the liquid being acidic. Shadow gave a sharp intake of breath due to the stinging. Like Arkane cybernetics, her arm had a nervous system as well. "Why did you wake me, Lawson?"

"As I was saying… before you smashed that datapad, Jacob and I think that there may be a way for us to draw Shepard to us, rather than us having to chase him and hope we eventually catch up with him." Miranda explained.

Shadow slowly lifted her mechanical arm out of the acid. It now glinted brightly and the claws shone with the lights.

"I'm listening." She said coldly.

* * *

**Phew! Finished at last. I can see now why people say that threesomes are so difficult to write. Writing an orgy like that is even harder.**

**Anyway, the next chapter will be the mission to recruit Grunt. After that, Jack and then it's off to Horizon.**

**See you soon!**


	10. Chapter 10, A Warlord or a Grunt

**Hi again! Sorry this one took a long time, I have been doing my best to try and get this done as soon as possible.**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**A Warlord or a Grunt**

They now had two more people left on the dossiers. Krogan warlord Okeer and biotic convict Jack. Austin was a bit unnerved by having a convict on board the ship so he decided to go with Okeer first. As Austin looked over the dossier on the Krogan it read:

 _A brilliant and brutal Krogan warlord who fought in the_ _Krogan Rebellions_ _,_ _Dr. Okeer_ _has become obsessed with saving the_ _Krogan people from the_ _Genophage_ _and is believed to have contacted the_ _Collectors_ _in an attempt to gain technology to that end. He is currently in a_ _Blue Suns_ _camp on_ _Korlus_ _, though the nature of his relationship with the mercenary group is unknown._

Since they'd most likely be fighting those Blue Suns Austin's first choice was Zaeed. He next decided to take Kraan so that he at least would have someone who Okeer would hopefully listen to and trust more and decided to top it off with Mordin. Austin after all hadn't seen the Salarian in action.

As the Hellhound touched down, the group quickly disembarked.

"The dossier doesn't say if Okeer is on this planet by choice. Assume hostiles." Said Austin as the drop ship lifted off again.

Korlus mostly seemed to be in ruins. It was covered in debris and all sorts of debris of metal. In the background the group could hear a female voice speaking over a loudspeaker.

"There is only one measure of success: kill or be killed! Perfection is your goal." It said.

"Canned orders over loud speaker? Classy." Said Zaeed.

"Not what I would call motivational." Said Kraan.

"Stay focused. We're looking for a Krogan Warlord.

The group took things slowly so that they wouldn't risk any alarms or alerting any of the Blue Suns troopers.

"Being hired is merely the beginning. You must earn your place in the mighty army we are building." Said the voice again.

"Heads up! Look out post ahead!" said Zaeed.

Austin immediately raised his hand to tell the others to hold position. Both Austin and Kraan crouched down and activated the cloaks. They took cover behind a nearby beam of metal that had a clear line of fire at the Blue Suns troopers.

"Mark 'em and drop 'em." Austin said.

The two Helldivers lined up their scopes with two of the mercs. Even if the shots didn't take them all out, it would at least thin their numbers.

"On your word, Shepard." Said Kraan.

"Fire!"

Both the Helldivers fired simultaneously. The two Blue Suns fell and the real fire fight started. Mordin and Zaeed came out of hiding and also joined in. The whole place became a blaze with a lot of gun shots. The mercs however where completely unprepared for the group and they were quickly dealt with.

After that was over, as the group proceeded slightly further, they came across a wounded Blue Suns merc.

"Shit! Shit! Won't stop bleeding! I'm gonna… I'm gonna… Son of a bitch!" he said.

"Cry-baby!" Kraan muttered. "That's barely a flesh wound."

"Suck it up, Soldier! I've seen worse." Said Zaeed.

"He doesn't need to know that." Austin said as he winked from inside his helmet. He approached the merc who was clearly too injured to try and draw his pistol on Austin.

"I knew it wasn't berserkers! Not at range. You're Helldivers. I'm not… I'm not telling you anything!" he said.

"I've got a nice application of Medi-Gel ready to go. But if you'd rather I just keep walking…" said Austin.

"Son of a Bi… I just… I don't know anything. I just shoot the overflow from the labs. The old Krogan up there, he… he's really been cleaning house lately. Jedore hired him to make her an army. But the Krogan he creates are insane. So we use them for live ammo training. It's all crap! I don't get paid enough o goddamn bleed out!" said the merc.

At that moment, the mercs radio came into life and a voice could be heard over it.

"Outpost four, Jedore wants us to move. We need coordinates on that Krogan pack." It said.

"What's he talking about?" Austin asked.

"Jedore runs a Blue Suns outlier and she's making Krogan for an army. But they all come out crazy. Tough as hell, but just insane." The merc replied.

"Doesn't make sense. Breeding facilities too expensive. Not worth the cost." Said Mordin.

"I don't know. I just point and shoot and bank my credits. Maybe there's something better in the labs." Said the merc.

Austin needed the other Blue Suns out of the way. He was tempted to order the merc to give bad directions, but his sense of compassion ultimately appealed to him in the end.

"I want your friends gone. Understand?" He said. Sternly.

The merc didn't need to be told twice.

"Uh, Patrol? The last group… dispersed. Lost sight five minutes ago." Said the merc into his microphone.

"Dispersed? Jedore will be pissed. She wanted a show." Came the reply.

"You asked for a report, you got it. Dispersed." Said the merc.

"Understood. Returning to the labs." Said the radio sergeant.

"There. You see? I'm helping." Said the merc.

"If you start limping now you might find a shady spot before you bleed out." Said Austin.

The merc limped off, swearing with each step.

"He just about pissed himself." Said Zaeed.

"Some people need a heavy hand." Said Austin. "Come on. Our warlord is somewhere in Jedore's lab."

Almost immediately though, they were met with even more Blue Suns troopers.

"Who's up to bat next, you bastards?" Austin yelled as he let his Revenant run wild. The sheer force of the machine guns fire was so strong it actually ripped several of the Blue Suns mercs into pieces. Some even had their own limbs torn right off. On the occasional times when he had to take cover because of the rocket troopers, Austin was able to use his plasma cannon to take care of them. Kraan meanwhile was drawing some of the fire away from the others while he himself fired back. Although he was out in the open, he had twice as strong armour, his shield could easily take the punishment and he was also using his dual plasma cannons. The whole place was filled with plasma explosions and these were also causing quite a few fires.

Just as they finished the last one though, Austin could hear more gunfire. When he looked however, everyone was there.

" _That's odd."_ Austin thought.

Once they reached the source of fighting though, it all made sense. The Blue Suns where being fired upon by a Krogan who was wearing the Krogan version of Phoenix armour.

The rest of the group entered the fray and the Blue Suns were gunned down within seconds. The Krogan took notice of them.

At first, the others raised their guns, but Austin motioned for them to stand down. The Krogan walked right up to Kraan and sniffed him.

"You… are different. New. You don't smell like this world." It said.

Kraan took a closer look at the Krogan and sniffed him back. He stood back slightly. Although Kraan was wearing his helmet, he looked puzzled.

"Strange. This Krogan smells like a juvenile. But he looks far too old to be that young." He said.

"Seven night cycles, and I have felt only the need to kill. But you… something makes me speak." Said the Krogan, still looking at Kraan.

"Seven night cycles? You're only a week old?" Kraan asked in disbelief.

"They must breed them full size, ready to kill. Not much improvement over regular mercs if they need training." Said Austin.

"Bred… to kill. No. I kill because my blood and bone tell me to. But it's not why I was flushed from glass mother. Survival is what I hear in my head. Against the enemy that threatens all my kind." Said the tank grown Krogan.

"The Genophage!" Kraan snarled. Although he was a Helldiver, Kraan felt very strongly about the Genophage that affected all Krogan. In fact, he had even once said that if he had the power to cure it, he would. It reminded Austin a lot of Wrex.

"Yes. I… was bred to fight it. But I failed even before waking. That is what the voice in the water said. That is why I wait here." Said the tank Krogan.

"You're supposed to be part of a mercenary army. Do you remember Jedore?" Austin asked, hoping that the Krogan would answer him. At the moment, the tank Krogan only seemed to notice Kraan and was ignoring the others.

The tank Krogan turned his head slowly and looked at Austin, then back at Kraan. He didn't seem to say anything.

"Answer him, boy!" said Kraan forcefully.

The Krogan seemed to obey and now looked at Austin.

"Yes. I know that name. It causes anger, but also laughter. It is not a name that will be sung when we march. I don't know what that means, but I have heard it many times." It said.

"Can you show us the laboratory? I need to speak with Okeer." Austin asked.

For a moment, the Krogan looked slightly confused by the mention of Okeer's name.

"Your father? Or this glass mother you speak of?" Kraan tried. Fortunately, that seemed to work.

"The… glass mother, she is up. Past the broken parts. Behind many of you fleshy things." Said the tank Krogan as he answered Austin. "I will show you."

The tank Krogan walked up to a massive beam and grunted as he lifted it up. The Krogan then flung it aside and it smashed to the floor.

"Hmph. Very impressive… for a baby." Said Kraan.

"Fleshy things are slow when big things are in their way." The tank Krogan replied. He didn't seem offended by Kraan's comment. But then it had acknowledged that it wasn't perfect.

"Can you show us the way? Help us fight to the lab?" Kraan asked.

"No." the tank Krogan replied.

"A Krogan refusing to fight?" Austin asked in surprise.

"That's cowardly! Even for you, boy!" said Kraan, clearly not impressed. Like many Krogan, Kraan often determined beings on their strength and ability to fight. Alpha Squad in particular had proven to be people he was more than happy to stand and fight with.

"I will fight if they come, but I feel it deep that I must wait. I kill, but only here." Said the tank Krogan.

Kraan seemed to accept this, but still didn't look impressed. "Better than not fighting at all I suppose." He said.

"I am not perfect, but I have purpose. I must wait until called. Released." Said the tank Krogan as he walked off. Now it was just the four of them.

"Kids. They always are a bit odd." Kraan sighed.

The team unholstered their guns once more and proceeded down the tunnel. They could hear a lot of gunfire in the distance and this time they could also hear the sounds of Krogan roars.

"This ought to be interesting." Said Kraan.

* * *

For the next few hours, the group battled their way through hundreds of Blue Suns troopers. In fact there where so many, Austin eventually lost count of how many there where. Finally, after dealing with over 10 different waves, they came across what looked like a massive building. Austin guessed this had to be the main laboratory. The door opened to an empty lab. Austin however suddenly noticed a figure hiding behind one of the tables. Just as he pointed his Revenant though, the figure stood. It was an Asari.

"Shepard, don't shoot! You know me!" she said as she stood up.

Austin couldn't help but think where he'd seen this Asari before. She did seem familiar. Seeing at least that she wasn't armed, Austin holstered his assault rifle and motioned for the others to do the same. The Asari seemed to relax.

"I shut down the security cams as soon as I saw it was you. Never thought I'd say it, but I'm glad it's you shooting up the place." She said.

"Have we met? Who are you?" Austin asked, now very confused.

"Sorry, Rana Thanoptis. You let me go when you destroyed Saren's lab on Virmire. Had to outrun a nuke in a utility pod, but it's still a second chance." Said the Asari.

Now Austin remembered. It made sense now why the Asari looked familiar.

"Oh, yes. I remember you now. You were very frightened last time. I assume you have a good reason for being at this lab?" Austin asked.

"Don't worry; I'm not wasting the chance you gave me. My work here – strictly beneficial. Not for the mercs. Jedore's on a standard power trip. But Okeer is trying to do something good, I can tell. Even if his methods are a little… extreme." Said Rana. As she said the last bit, she looked hesitantly at a long dead human skeleton. She then looked back at Austin. "Like you yourself said, everyone deserves a second chance. Right? And sometimes giving one pays off. I take care of my debts." She said.

"What exactly is Okeer trying to do here?" Austin asked.

"It's complicated. Jedore wants a private army, but Okeer mostly ignores her. He's running the project for his own reasons. I created a mental imprint routine to educate his tank-bred, but most don't get through it. He dumps them for some reason. He wants to help his people, but he's not looking for a Genophage cure, and he's not going for numbers. That's all I know." Rana explained.

"Finding you in a place like this makes me think letting you go was a mistake. You don't want that." Said Austin.

"We agree on that. Don't worry; I plan on staying as far away from anything to do with you as possible. No if you don't mind, I'm going to run like hell before you blow the place or something. I know how you work." Said Rana as she left.

"That's gonna bite you in the ass someday." Zaeed commented.

They only had to open the door before they finally found who they had fought all their way to. Okeer was currently stood at a terminal next to tank. There was a Krogan inside this one, but it looked different from the others. The Warlord didn't turn to face them, but he seemed to know they were in the room.

"Here you are! I've watched your progress." He said. "It's about time. The batteries on these tanks will not wait while you play with these idiotic mercs."

"I take it you're Okeer. You don't seem particularly caged… or grateful that we're here." Said Kraan.

"You may claim to be here to help, Urdnot Kraan. But the formerly deceased Shepard is not a sign of gentle change." Said Okeer.

Austin could now see where this was going. He was lucky that Kraan understood why he had destroyed Saren's cure for the Genophage, but Okeer was a different story altogether.

"Surprised? All Krogan should know you. I'm sure Rana has already revisited your actions on Virmire." Said Okeer, now looking directly at Austin.

"Look, I didn't have lot of room for finesse. If there'd been another solution, I'd have considered." Said Austin defensively.

Surprisingly, Okeer didn't seen angry. In fact it looked as though he was pleased.

"But I approve. Saren's pale horde were not true Krogan. Numbers alone are noting. The mistake of an outsider, one that these mercenaries have also made." Said Okeer. The Krogan then turned to the window in his lab. It overlooked nearly hundreds of tanks, some empty, some with Krogan still in them. "I gave their leader my rejects for her army. But she grows impatient. It's time for you to take me out of here."

"Personal issues irrelevant. Here for the Collectors." Said Mordin.

"I see. Yes. Collector attacks have increased. A human concern. My requests were focused elsewhere." Said Okeer. He then turned to the tank he was standing next to that had the different Krogan inside. "I acquired the knowledge to create one pure soldier. With that, I will inflict upon the Genophage the greatest insult an enemy can suffer. To be ignored." Okeer explained.

"Your search for the perfect soldier created a lot of failures. You don't care about them? Our own people?" Kraan asked, clearly a bit shocked that Okeer would do things like this.

"I failed no one, Kraan. My rejects are exactly what Jedore asked for. She simply lacks the ability to command. They are strong, healthy, and useless to me. I need perfection. If a few thousand are rejected, so be it. My work will purify the Krogan. We will not be restored – we will be renewed." Said Okeer.

"I thought the Krogan ideal was a return to the numbers that threatened the galaxy." Said Austin.

"We will not need numbers. My soldier is a template. It is a greater threat than all the phantom siblings that would have been at its flank. The galaxy still bears the scars of the horde. But it will learn to fear the lance." Said Okeer.

"You're just as cruel and manipulative as those who released the Genophage on our people!" said Kraan angrily. Austin though calmed him down.

"Perhaps. But I will restore the Krogan and my soldier will not provoke a nuclear response as a "cure" or "horde" would. My legacy is perfection, with each pure Krogan reaching higher by standing on our dead. They will exceed, but not forget." Said Okeer.

"So what did you get from the Collectors? We need whatever you know about them." Austin asked.

"They are strange. So isolated, yet very available when you sacrifice is big enough. I gave them many Krogan. I may have information for you, but the tech was consumed in my prototype. After I determined how to use it without killed the subjects. The deaths were unfortunate, but I only need one success to start the process." Said Okeer.

"Your methods may be extreme, but you know how to deconstruct a threat. Will you join us?" Austin asked.

"Perhaps I can strike a deal to secure passage. But my prototype is not negotiable. It is the key to me legacy." Said Okeer.

Before the conversation could continue any further though, Jedore's voice once again came over the speakers.

"Attention! I have traced the Krogan release. Okeer, of course." She said.

Okeer looked out of the window. There was female Blue Suns merc with the tanks. This had to be Jedore herself.

"I'm calling "blank slate" on his project. Gas these commandos and start over form Okeer's data. Flush the tanks!" she ordered.

At that moment, several valves suddenly activated and there was a loud hissing sound.

"Toxins!" said Mordin.

"She's that weak willed? She'll kill my legacy with a dammed valve!" said Okeer. He then turned back to Austin. "Shepard! You want information on the Collectors? Stop her. She'll try to access contaminants in the storage bay."

"You could just start over, like she plans to. What's the big deal?" Kraan asked.

"This tank is pure; it involved as much trial as data. Starting over will not duplicate it. It must survive. Okeer will be with the rejected tanks. Kill her. I will… stay and do what must be done." Said Okeer.

Without much of a choice, the group headed downstairs. The moment the door to the tank bay opened, Jedore took notice of them.

"I don't care who they are, I want them dead! This is my world! I'll poison them all!" she yelled as she fired a rocket at them.

"Someone shut that bitch up!" said Zaeed as they all dive for cover from the rocket.

"Gladly!" Kraan replied as he activated his dual plasma cannons and fired on Jedore. The merc dove for cover but one of them managed to gaze her shoulder.

Angry at being injured, Jedore activated all the tanks and Krogan came pouring out. Jedore then activated a heavy mech as well.

"Alright, Kraan, Zaeed, Mordin, you deal with the Krogan. I'll deal with Jedore and that mech." Said Austin.

The others simple nodded and fired on the Krogan. Kraan easily shot one in the head with his twin barrelled heavy assault rifle which he had made himself.

"I'll build more! There's always more!" said Jedore as she noticed Austin roll to a different vantage point and fired on him. The rocket missed him. "I rule here, Helldiver!"

"Oh, shut up!" Austin yelled as he fired a plasma shot. Jedore didn't react in time and the plasma impacted on the left side of her face. The merc screamed and clutched her burnt head in agony as it was burned.

It was a short battle, but everything was soon dealt with within minutes. Just as the group where catching their breath though, they could hear something.

"Alarms in the lab? What is that Krogan up to?" said Zaeed as they could hear the faint sound of alarms coming from the floor above.

"Shepard, the lab alarms coincided with the systems failure. The remaining lab systems are unprotected, and I have gained limited access. According to lab scanners, the room is flooded with toxins, and Okeer's personal life signs are failing rapidly. I recommend haste." Came EDI's voice through the radios.

"You heard EDI. Double time!" Austin ordered.

" _You gave me time, Shepard. If I knew why the Collectors wanted humans. I would tell you. But everything in my prototype. My legacy is pure. This… one soldier, this Grunt. Perfect."_

The message ended and Austin looked down at Okeer's body.

"So now what do we do?" Kraan asked.

Austin looked up at Okeer's prototype. He had to admit that while this Krogan wouldn't be Okeer, it was better than nothing at all. Also, perhaps this one would pack more of a punch.

"He killed thousands of his own people, but he sacrificed himself to save… this?" said Zaeed.

"Delusional. Unlikely one Krogan, however strong, could have impact Okeer wanted. Am… almost certain. Suggest leaving it." Said Mordin.

"Worried he'll make your Genophage obsolete?" said Austin.

"No. But Krogan genetically dangerous. Socially dangerous as well. Have enough enemies without adding this." Mordin replied.

Austin activated his wrist communicator and hailed the Normandy.

"Normandy? Okeer is a no-go. But we have a package that needs retrieval… and he's a big one."

* * *

"Bringing the Krogan for study makes sense, but I have concerns about waking it." Said Alaara.

Austin, Alaara, Sandra, and Kraan had gathered in the comm room. Apparently Alaara, being Alpha Squad's second in command, had concerns of her own about Okeer's prototype.

"You've said that a few times now, T'onrak." Said Kraan.

"A normal Krogan like you is dangerous enough. This one was created, and likely educated by a madman." Said Alaara.

"I see everyone's enjoying the new paperweight. Concerns?" said Austin as he folded his arms.

"We don't know anything about it, Major." Said Sandra, clearly agreeing with her bond mate.

"I know. You don't find that interesting?" said Kraan enthusiastically.

Both Alaara and Sandra shook their heads, clearly unimpressed.

"Krogan fight well at close quarters. Perhaps awakening him in a confined space wouldn't be prudent." Alaara suggested.

"Noted. The cargo hold is safe enough while I decide what to do with him." Said Austin.

Both Alaara and Sandra saluted and left the room.

Let me know if you want a hand. He may be tank born, but I won't let that stop me if he goes blood rage on you." Said Kraan as he too followed.

* * *

"Is it true we have a pod containing a baby Krogan down in the cargo hold?" Kelly asked.

"Not what I would call a baby. He's a full-grown super soldier ready for combat." Said Austin. It was at least good to see that it wasn't just Alaara and Sandra who had concerns.

"Please be careful if you decide to…err... birth him? His personality is completely unknown." Said Kelly.

Austin made his way down to deck 3 where the cargo bay was and therefore was where the tank had been stored.

"The subject is stable, Shepard. Integration with on-board systems was seamless." Said EDI as her avatar appeared beside Austin at human size

"Stand by, EDI. I'm going to open the tank and let him out." Said Austin.

"Helldiver protocol is very clear regarding untested and unknown alien technology. You of all people should know that, Shepard." Said EDI. The AI did her best to sound polite though.

"I know, EDI. But we can't just leave him here. He's either a powerful addition to the crew or a time bomb. I'd rather deal with it now. Anyway, I'll take responsibility for whatever happens." Said Austin.

"Very well, Shepard. The controls are online. The switch – and consequences – are yours." Said EDI.

Austin walked up to the controls to the tank and pressed the release button. The nutrients and water inside the tank slowly drained. As the last of it drained out, the tanks opened and the Krogan inside fell to his knees. He coughed slightly and spat out some of the water and nutrients out of his mouth. Austin stepped back slightly so that he didn't alarm the Krogan. The Krogan blinked slightly as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. As soon as it saw Austin, the Krogan lunged at Austin. The Helldiver though had been braced for this and he managed to push the Krogan back as it collided with him. At first, the Krogan was surprised by this but he quickly regained his composure and adjusted his strategy. The Krogan head-butted Austin, briefly disorienting him and then pinned him to the wall, pinning his left arm in the process.

"Human. Male. Helldiver. Before you die, I need a name." said the Krogan.

"I'm Major Austin Shepard, and I don't take threats lightly. I suggest you relax." Austin replied forcefully.

"Not your name. Mine. I am trained; I know things, but the tank… Okeer couldn't implant connection. His words are hollow. Warlord, legacy, grunt… grunt. "Grunt" was among the last. It has no meaning. It'll do. I am Grunt. If you are worthy of your command, prove your strength as a Helldiver and try to destroy me." Said the Krogan.

"You wouldn't prefer "Okeer?" Or "Legacy?" Austin asked.

Unknown to Grunt, Austin always had backup plans for situations like this. True, Grunt had his left arm pinned, but his right arm was still free and he had his Phalanx pistol aimed at the Krogan's stomach in case this turned nasty. Dell had also recently discovered a new way of using the tactical cloak. In addition to making a Helldiver invisible, the cloak could also be used on individual parts of armour. Not only was this more efficient, but it also came in handy if you didn't want an enemy to see you doing something behind your back, or drawing a hidden weapon. In this situation especially, Austin had his plasma cannon cloaked and it was pointing at Grunt's head. This was only to be used as a last resort though. Shots from the pistol would only leave flesh wounds for Grunt if he turned hostile, but one shot from the plasma cannon could kill him and Austin would rather keep Grunt alive after all the rouble that had been gone through to get him.

"It's short. Matches the training in my blood. The other words are big things I don't feel. Maybe they fit your mouth better. I feel nothing for Okeer's clan or his enemies. I will do what I am bred to do – fight and determine the strongest – but his imprint has failed. Without a reason that's mine, one fight is as good as any other. Might as well start with you." Said Grunt.

"It's that easy for Okeer's perfect Krogan to abandon his mission?" Austin asked, sounding unimpressed.

"Okeer is just a voice in the tank. If his imprints are true, then he created something stronger than him. So he's not worthy of me. And if his hatreds aren't strong enough to compel me, they've failed, too. I feel nothing. I have no connection." Said Grunt.

"Didn't Okeer teach you anything about Helldivers? I have a good ship and strong crew, a strong clan. A very strong clan in fact. You'd make it even stronger. In fact you could even make us undefeatable." Austin said, doing his best to appeal to Grunt's love of fighting. Not that he worried about not providing Grunt what he wanted. Helldivers saw a lot of action, if that's what Grunt wanted, he'd get it tenfold.

"If you're weak and choose weak enemies, I'll have to kill you." Said Grunt.

"Trust me, Grunt. You don't want to fight me. I've fought and killed hundreds of Krogan in my time. And even if you do kill me you'll waste the chance of a lifetime. The enemies that I and my allies fight are defiantly worthy of someone like you. No doubt about it." Said Austin.

Grunt took a moment to consider this.

"Hmm. Hmph! That's… acceptable. I'll fight for you." He finally said.

"I'm glad you saw reason." Austin smiled under his helmet. He then moved his head slightly as he indicated down to his free hand which still had the Phalanx in it.

"Hmm?" said Grunt as he looked down and noticed the gun. He then looked back up to see the plasma cannon uncloaking. The Krogan then smiled.

"Ha! Offer one hand, but arm the other. You even hid another one in plain sight." He said as he let go of Austin. "Wise, Shepard. If I find a clan, if I find what I… I want; I will be honoured to eventually pit them against you." Said Grunt.

Austin gave very quiet sigh of relief. It looked like Grunt would be a perfect replacement for Okeer.

* * *

"I don't know what to feel about Grunt. My psych reports were for Okeer. We have no guarantee that Grunt is mentally stable." Said Kelly.

"Maybe. But he does at least seem to have some respect for me. Plus, Kraan can easily keep him in line." Said Austin.

"True. But I still get the feeling that he just doesn't care about anything, including who lives or dies."

"Don't worry, Kelly. I've faced a lot of Krogan in my time. If Grunt does get out of line, I'll sort him out."

* * *

"Shepard. Need me for something?" Garrus asked.

"Just thought I'd check up on you. You got a minute?" Austin asked.

"Sure. Just checking the weapons systems. You can never be too careful." Said Garrus.

Austin stood next to the railing near where Garrus' console in the forward batteries was.

"I thought I'd seen every weapon in the galaxy in our fight against Saren. Helldiver work showed me otherwise. And now they rebuild the Normandy with a few upgrades to boot. I wish I'd joined up with them sooner." Said Garrus.

"I'm glad you think so, Garrus. It's also good to see that you've been getting along so well with my squad." Said Austin.

"They're as friendly to me as a squad like them can be. And they've got you leading them again, which is good. You're death hit them all very hard. I can't exactly doubt your judgement. Not after I got my own squad killed." Said Garrus.

"What? What squad?" Austin asked, now very confused.

"When I joined the Helldivers I rose through the ranks quite quickly. When I became a Lieutenant, they gave me command of my own squad. For a long time we mostly just got the usual assignments of taking down several Batarian outposts. Eventually, we ended up on a joint mission with your squad. They were happy to work with me. Things went well… until Omega." Said Garrus.

"What exactly happened? Merc gangs?" Austin asked.

Garrus remained silent for a while before finally answering. "It was my own damn fault. One of my people betrayed me. A Turian named Sidonis. He drew me away just before a gang of mercs attacked my squad, then he disappeared. Everyone except me is dead because of him. And because I didn't see it coming."

"I'm not sure I understand. What happened, exactly?" Austin asked.

"Sidonis asked for my help on a job. When I got to the meeting point, nobody was there. By the time I got back to our hideout, the mercs had killed all but two of my squad. And they didn't last long." Garrus explained.

"Are you sure it was a betrayal? Maybe they took Sidonis out first." Said Austin.

"No I've put out feelers with some old contacts. He booked transport off Omega just before the attack. He also cleared out his private accounts before he left. He sold me out and ran." Said Garrus.

"Do you know where Sidonis is now?" Austin asked.

"No. His trail vanishes after he leaves Omega. But I'll keep hunting. I lost my whole team, except for Sidonis. One day I'll find him… and correct that." Garrus replied. For a moment, the Turian bowed his head. "Thanks for coming by, Shepard. I've got some things to take care of." He said.

Garrus went back to the calibrations on the gun, leaving Austin a little concerned about the Turian. Austin ultimately decided to go down and check on Dell and Sill in the cargo hold. As soon as the elevator doors opened, he was met with a rather surprising sight. X-5 was currently holding up one of the arms of the simulator above his head. Dell meanwhile was typing away at the Simulator's computer while Sill was fiddling with several wires that where protruding out of the gap where the arm was meant to be. Griffin was also sat on a nearby crate making a new explosive device. The demolition expert wasn't paying much attention to anything else.

"Should almost be finished. Just hold it up a little longer." Said Dell. "How's that welding coming along, sweetheart?" Dell asked.

"Should be done now." Said Sill as she jumped out of the hole she'd been working on. "Give that a try."

X-5 slowly lowered the arm back into place and Sill began drilling the screws back into place.

"What's going on?" Austin asked.

"Hey Shepard. The simulator blew a fuse earlier. We're just fixing it." Said Sill.

"The system crashed as well. Turns out I got the source memory a bit wrong and one of the simulation maps conserved too much system memory. Think that's what caused it." Said Dell.

Sill went over to Dell's work table and picked up some kind of sentry turret. Austin recognized it as one of the auto turrets that he had authorised for the Normandy's defence system. Sill noticed him staring at it.

"We're still working on it. The targeting system is proving to be a real pain." She said.

"We'll get it eventually. The Helldiver armour wasn't perfect when we first made it." Said Dell, comfortingly.

"How was it that you actually came to be a scientist?" Austin asked.

Sill and X-5 could see where this was going and they both gave Austin some space. Sill smiled slightly. She liked that Austin was getting to know his crew this well.

"Well, ever since I was a small boy I've always had a bit of a thing for engineering." Dell explained.

"Must be nice to do a hobby as a job." Said Austin as he walked up to the table and had a look at several of Dell's unfinished contraptions and projects.

"Indeed. I originally started off as a simple mechanic. I mostly just worked on fixing every day contraptions and sky cars." Said Dell.

"How'd you end up with the Helldivers?" Austin asked.

"My brother, Kel joined the Arkanes armies a few years after I started up a small career. This was before the Helldivers had even been thought of, and we had only just discovered the Guardian technology. I assume you know what things where like then?" said Dell.

"Sort of. History's not my strongest point if I'm honest." Said Austin.

"Back then, my people were looking for ways to create a brand new type of super soldier. After a few years, business had gotten rather slow for me, I wasn't raising enough money and was really struggling to keep things going. My brother eventually came to me and said that they were in need of someone like me. They were putting together a special project and they wanted the best engineers that they could find."

"I'm guessing that was the start of the first seven?" Austin asked.

"Yeah. Swell guys. I was rather young compared to some of them at the time, but they welcomed me with open arms." Said Dell as he went behind his desk, sill making sure that he paid attention to the Major.

"Do you still keep in contact with them?" Austin asked.

"Of course. Because of the huge success we created we always have a reunion every year… with what members remain that is." Said Dell, hesitating slightly at the last bit.

"What do you mean "remain?" Austin asked.

"Some of the first seven where rather old when I met them. So some of them by now have retired or passed away.

"Where you the youngest?" Austin asked.

"Yeah. I think I was about… 80 at that time? I don't always remember. But I'm only 248 at the moment, so I'm still a long time away from that." Said Dell.

"Was that also how you met Sill's mother?" Austin asked.

"My wife and I met a few years after I joined. We saw each other for nearly four years or so before we finally got married and we had Sill. Best decision I ever made in my life." Dell answered.

"You should be proud of your daughter. I think she's a fine engineer. Takes after her father." Austin smiled as he indicated to Sill who was now putting what looked like a harness on.

"I am. Admittedly, Uthenra was surprised that she was more like me than her. But we're both really proud of our little girl." Dell smiled as he watched Sill attach herself to nearby rope and she began walking up the walls.

"Good talking with you, Dell. Let me know how those upgrades are going." Said Austin.

"Anytime, Major. We'll be here if you need anything." Said Dell as the Arkane went back to work.

Deciding to call it a day for now, Austin went for elevator and headed up to his quarters. As the doors opened he found that he wasn't alone. Liara was sat on the sofa and was currently going over several datapads.

"Still working?" Austin smiled as he sat down next to his girlfriend.

"Just sorting out a few things. I thought I might be done before you came up." Liara smiled back as she allowed Austin to give her a peck on the cheek.

"Forgive me for asking, love. But what exactly are your responsibilities here? Apart obviously from giving me every reason to keep fighting this fight." Austin asked.

"I may still be a Prothean expert, but I am now a very accomplished fighter. I am also a commander, so I serve as your XO." Liara replied as she put down the datapad she'd been holding earlier.

"I thought that was Alaara's job." Said Austin.

"Alaara's your second in command, true. But she's mostly just in charge of ground fighting. I'm more in charge of being second in command on the ship." Liara explained.

"That makes sense. I'm glad you've gotten along so well with everyone. As I recall, you used to be a very secluded person." Said Austin as he put his arm around Liara and she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I guess we've melded so much that a lot of you has rubbed off on me." Liara smiled.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" said Austin.

The doors opened and Kelly stepped in, holding a different datapad in her hand.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She said when she saw Liara.

"No, it's fine." Said Liara reassuringly.

"I just came to give you some more Intel on our next dossier." Said Kelly as she handed the datapad to Austin.

"I shan't bother you anymore, Major." Said Kelly as she made for the door.

"Kelly…" Austin called.

Kelly stopped and looked at Austin.

"Well done for knocking this time."

* * *

**There we go!**

**Next will be the Jack chapter, which will once again have different dialogue since this Shepard isn't working for Cerberus.**


	11. Chapter 11, Subject Zero

**Fair warning that this one contains a bit of sex at the end.**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Subject Zero**

Last but not least was the biotic convict, Jack. Austin couldn't say that he was looking forward to this. Convicts had often caused an awful lot of trouble for him and they often turned on people, and reading through the dossier didn't help either.

 _Jack (no last name known)_  
\- Exceptional biotic ability  
\- Note: Criminal background, currently in custody  
Jack is rumoured to be the most powerful human biotic ever encountered. Very little additional data regarding Jack is available, except that the subject has a history of violence and should be approached carefully. Currently, Jack is being held on the Turian prison ship Purgatory. The Arkane Council have negotiated for the prisoner's release.

" _I hope the Council knows what they're doing."_ Austin thought.

* * *

As the ship docked, Austin decided on taking Griffin and Zaeed for their Blue Suns experience since he had just found out that the Purgatory was in fact a Blue Suns vessel. He finally decided to finish it off by taking Grunt as well. Hopefully it would at least allow him to get a preview of what the Krogan's personality was like. The Krogan was currently equipped with an M-22 Eviscerator Shotgun and an M-8 Avenger assault rifle.

The team quickly disembarked. Immediately, they found their way blocked by guards.

"Welcome to the Purgatory, Shepard. You're package is being prepped and you can claim it shortly. As this is a high security vessel, you need to relinquish your weapons before we proceed." Said one of the guards.

"I can't do that." Said Austin.

At that moment the door behind the guards opened and another Turian guard stepped out. This one wasn't wearing a helmet, and like Austin, he carried an M-76 Revenant.

"Everyone, stand down!" he ordered.

The Guards did as they were told and the Turian then turned to Austin.

"Major, I'm Warden Kuril and this is my ship. You're weapons will be returned on the way out. You must realize this is just standard procedure." He said.

"It's my standard procedure to keep my gun." Said Austin defiantly.

For a moment, Kuril gave Austin a cold stare.

"Let them proceed. Our facility is more than secure enough to handle four armed guests, even if two of them are Helldivers. We're bringing Jack out of Cryo. As soon as the fund's clear, you can be on your way. If you'll follow me to our processing for the pickup, Major." Said Kuril.

The group followed Kuril through the door. From out of the glass windows that the corridors had they could see hundreds of individual prison cells on the walls. A large metal arm detached one of them and then slotted it into a port on a part of the corridor.

"Cell block two. As you can see, we keep tight control over the population. Each prisoner's cell is self-contained modular unit. I've blown a few out the airlocks as an example. The ship is made up of 30 cell blocks identical to this one. We house thousands of criminals. We can put the whole place in lock down on a moment's notice. Nothing goes wrong here." Said Kuril as he gave a small tour of the place.

"Let's get on with this." Said Austin.

The warden nodded and the tour continued.

"I doubt that you've haven't had any escape attempts. What's a prison without escapees?" Griffin asked.

"We're in space. They have nowhere to go and they know it. But still, we exercise extreme caution. These are dangerous individuals. We have many ways to control the population. I'm going to confirm that the funds from the Arkanes are cleared. Out-processing is straight down this hallway. Just keep going past the interrogation rooms and the supermax wing." Said Kuril. The warden then made for the other door. "I'll catch up with you later, Shepard."

As the group made their way through the hallways, Austin couldn't help but get the feeling that the Suns where hiding something. Griffin felt it too. He himself had once been a Sun, so he knew a cover up when he saw one.

* * *

Soon the group came across several cells. A Turian guard was stood in front of one. They could hear several painful screams coming from within. Another Turian guard was in the cell with the prisoner. He was holding the gun the other way round and was using the butt to hit the prisoner.

"Torture? That's what these lowlifes are now reduced to?" Griffin hissed in a shocked manner. He managed to say it quietly enough though that the Blue Suns didn't hear him.

"No one walks away from torture unchanged. Not the subject, but the torturer himself. Never found torture worth the price myself." Zaeed commented.

Austin agreed with Griffin. This was very low, even for the Suns. He had to do something.

"Is there something I can do for you?" the guard asked.

"There's no excuse for beating a prisoner who can't fight back." Austin replied.

"This is a massage compared to what his victims went through." Said the guard.

"This degrades you as much as him." Said Austin.

"We have orders." Said the guard.

"You're not important enough to make your own decisions?" Griffin asked.

"I admit… I sometimes get tired of this. Does this really get us anything useful?" replied the guard.

"Stop this. For your own sake." Said Austin.

"Yeah. You're right." Said the guard. He then turned to the cell. "Call it off. At least for now."

The guard in the cell did as he was told and stopped the torture.

With that matter dealt with, the group continued to the out-processing. Again though they were stopped by one of the prisoners calling to them from inside his cell.

"Hey! Hey guys, over here. Let me ask you something." He said. "If you're buying prisoners, can you buy me? Man, I don't care where you take me or what you do to me, it's got to be better than this."

"We're here for Jack. Not you." Said Griffin.

"Jack? Forget what I said. I don't want to go nowhere with you." Said the prisoner.

"Thought as much." Said Austin.

Finally they reached the room just before the out-processing.

"Out-processing is through the door on the far side of the room." Said a scientist who was typing away at a console.

"I don't like this. Feels like we're just walking into a trap." Said Griffin.

"You worry too much." Said Grunt.

"That's enough, you two!" said Austin, forcefully.

Austin walked up to the door and it opened. What was inside however, looked like the inside of a cell.

"My apologies, Shepard. You're more valuable as a prisoner than a customer." Came Kuril's voice. "Drop your weapons and proceed into this open cell. You will not be harmed."

"I don't think so!" said Austin as he drew his weapons, the others did the same.

"Go to hell, Kuril. We'll send you there ourselves!" said Griffin.

"Activate systems!" Kuril ordered.

Almost immediately, a small squad of Blue Suns came through the door. Everyone immediately readied for a fight. What happened next though, took everyone by surprise. Grunt suddenly charged right at the mercs at full speed.

"I am Krogan!" he roared as he smashed into the mercs, sending several of them flying and treading over the others. He even stomped on one of their heads with his massive feet.

Everyone simply stood there in complete silence. They had not been expecting that.

"Okay, remind me never to get on your bad side, Grunt." Griffin managed to say.

"Only if you stay out of the way and fight well enough." Grunt smiled.

"Let's get going guys. We've still got a convict to find." Said Austin.

"Reinforce Out-processing! Shepard is loose!" came Kuril's voice as the group made their way to the real out-processing.

"Shepard is on the loose! Repeat, Shepard is loose! Get people down here!" said a technician as he drew a pistol. Before he could fire though, Austin quickly aimed with his plasma cannon and fired. The technician was disintegrated within seconds. With the area clear for now, Austin headed over to a nearby control panel.

"You sure about this, Major? If that control is activated, every door on the cell block will open." Said Griffin.

"It's the only way." Said Zaeed.

"I'm doing it. Be ready." Said Austin as he activated the control.

From inside the large room they could see from the platform they were on, they could see at least four heavy mechs, all on standby in case the prisoner got out. A large metallic arm slowly moved out of the floor and moved over to some sort of odd cylinder in the floor. One it had latched on, it rotated a few degrees before then slowly rising out. The prisoner, Jack was revealed.

It was not however what any of them had expected. Jack was in fact a woman. The convict was completely bald. To be honest though, that was not the most noticeable feature. She was completely topless and only had a few straps to cover her breasts. The most noticeable feature though was that her entire upper body and part of her head was completely covered in tattoos. Other than that though, she didn't really look anything like what her dossier had described.

"That's Jack?" said Griffin.

"Jack is small." Said Grunt.

Freed from the cryo, Jack slowly moved. She then suddenly awoke and became aware that she was clamped in place. Almost instantly, she freed her right hand and her left hand from their restraints. Jack then went for the clamp on her neck and then managed to force it apart. The convict stumbled to her knees for a second as she adjusted to her surroundings. She quickly noticed however that the heavy mechs had now detected her and where now moving towards her.

"We've gotta got down there and help her!" said Austin.

To everyone's surprise however, Jack flung herself at the mechs and almost instantly flared with biotics. She ploughed straight through one of the mechs and it exploded.

"Oh, I wanna see this!" said Grunt enthusiastically.

Austin quickly hacked the door and they moved down the stairs.

"Come on! I wanna see how long she can last!" said Grunt.

The door to the cell room opened. The whole place was a mess. Every single mech was completely in pieces and there was a massive hole in the wall.

"All guards: restore order! Lethal force authorized! But don't kill Jack! Techs: lockdown! Lockdown!" came Kuril's voice.

Austin and the others quickened their pace through the corridors. As they followed Jack's trail of destruction, the whole station looked even worse. The lights quickly went out and the red emergency lighting quickly came on.

"All prisoners: return to your cells immediately or I'll open every airlock on this ship!" Kuril yelled over the speakers as several of the escaped prisoners began firing on them with improvised weapons. Some had even taken the guns from the guards.

"Stay back!" Austin yelled as he fired several shots at the feet of the ones with improvised weapons. Griffin also did the same. The prisoners with guns meanwhile sought cover. It didn't work for long though and soon the prisoners attacked again.

Despite their disadvantage of numbers, Austin and the group where better equipped than the prisoners. They were also able to employ a very good tactic to dealing with their attackers. Since the prisoners with guns were staying in cover they were able to melee the ones that had improvised weapons. It was a quick, but rather messy battle.

"Shepard, the warden has locked down the area behind you. You must find another exit route." Said EDI through the comlink.

"Shepard, that door over there is sealed, but I may just be able to blast through with some explosives." Said Griffin.

"As long as you don't blow half the ship apart." Said Austin as he nodded.

Griffin walked up to the door and began setting up the explosives. He had it ready within seconds.

"I'll let you have the detonator this time, Griffin." Said Austin as they retreated to a safe distance.

"Fire in the hole!" Griffin yelled as he pressed the button.

The whole ship shock as the entire wall seemed to explode. Fire and smoke was everywhere as Grunt and Zaeed shielded their eyes. Austin and Griffin, who were wearing helmet's simply averted their gaze from the explosion. When the smoke finally cleared everything was an absolute mess.

"What the hell…" said Austin as he looked at where Griffin had planted the explosions.

Rather than an expected small opening, the entire wall was missing and there was a massive smouldering hole where the door had once been. Everyone was completely speechless. Even Griffin looked a bit surprise by this. He did his best to look innocent as Austin stared coldly at him.

"You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" Austin said crossly.

"I think I used a bit too much." Said Griffin, now very embarrassed.

"We've got company!" Grunt yelled.

Sure enough, more of the mercs where coming for them. Still, it was nothing they couldn't handle. As they ploughed their way through the mercs, the explosions that Jack was causing where getting louder. That was a good sign that they were catching up.

Only Cell block one was left now. Unfortunately, that was where Kuril was as well. He had gunned down all the prisoners with his own Revenant and also had his blue tech armour on. That would complicate things.

"You're valuable, Shepard. I could've sold you and lived like a king." Said Kuril as he fired a shot at them. It missed and the group quickly went into cover. "But you're too much trouble. At least I can recapture Jack."

Kuril fired another shot from his Revenant, but that missed too.

"Not happening! You're a two-bit slave trader and I don't have time for it." Said Austin.

"I do the hard thins civil governments are unwilling to! This is for the good of the galaxy!" said Kuril as he fired two more shots.

"And this is for your own good!" Griffin yelled as he fired a charged shot from his dual shoulder cannons.

The plasma only just missed Kuril and he activated a large dome shield. However, that didn't last long since the generators for the shield had appeared out of the floor and were within firing distance of the group. The generators were destroyed with seconds, leaving Kuril exposed.

"Cut him down! I'm done with this bastard!" Austin ordered as Griffin unloaded his entire mini gun right into the Turian.

* * *

At that moment, they noticed someone running in one of the walkways they'd originally been in when they arrived. It was Jack. Two guards that where guarding the entrance to the Normandy noticed her as she slid under the door.

"Stop!" one of them yelled.

Jack however didn't listen and lifted him into the air with her biotics and smashed him against the window. She then simply used a charge on the other one. He was sent flying. One more came at the convict but a plasma shot from behind her took care of him. Jack looked behind her to see Austin and the others. Austin told everyone to put their guns down. The last thing they wanted was for Jack to attack them.

At first, Jack looked confused by the strangers in front of her. However, her face then turned to surprise when she saw Austin more clearly.

"You!" she said coldly.

"So, you remember me after all. I'm touched." Said Austin coldly. He had been afraid of this.

"You know her?" Griffin asked, almost speechless by this.

"It's a long story. I'll explain later." Said Austin.

"What the hell are you doing here and what the hell do you want?" Jack shouted, ready to fight again in case things went nasty.

"He just saved your ass you know. You might be a bit more grateful." Said Griffin.

"That guard was already dead. He just didn't know. Now, what the hell do you want?" Jack asked again.

"Believe it or not, we're here to get you off this ship." Said Austin.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, Helldiver." Said Jack.

"Would you rather have Cerberus rescue you then?" Austin asked.

"Fuck that! Anything's better than those assholes! But that still doesn't mean I'm trusting you. Last time we met, you nearly cut my neck open." Jack replied.

"We're offering to be your friend. You do not want to be our enemy." Said Austin.

"Listen to Shepard. It'll save your life." Said Zaeed.

"And how do I know this isn't just another trick to get me back in jail?" Jack asked.

"We're here to recruit you. Why else would we go through all this trouble to find you? Besides, you were well caged up here. Why bother moving you to another prison?" Austin said, trying his best to be persuasive.

"Just shoot her and patch her up on the ship." Said Grunt.

"I'd like to see you try!" said Jack challengingly.

"No! We're not attacking her!" Austin objected.

"Good move. Look, you want me to come with you, make it worth my while." Said Jack.

"You have something in mind?" Austin asked.

"You're Helldivers and you fight Cerberus. So I'll bet you've got a lot of databases and Intel about them and some of their operations. I wanna look at those files. See what Cerberus has got on me. You want me on your team? Let me go through those databases." Said Jack.

Austin considered this a moment. It sounded like reasonable enough deal. It wouldn't compromise the Helldivers and it got Jack on their side. Why not?

"Sounds like a fair deal. I'll give you full access." He said.

"You better be straight up with me." Said Jack.

"I'm a man of my word, Jack." Said Austin.

"So why the hell are we standing here?"

* * *

Alpha Squad didn't have the best reaction to Jack's appearance. The fact that she was almost topless was very distracting for them. Still, they kept their cool and their helmets hid their expressions at least.

"Welcome to the Normandy, Jack. My name is Alaara T'onrak, Shepard's second in command. This is the XO, Liara T'soni." Said Alaara as she introduced herself and Liara.

"I hope you will be comfortable here, Jack." Said Liara.

"I'm not looking for friends, Asari. Don't bother being pleasant. I'm here because of the deal." Said Jack.

"We'll give you the necessary security access to the Cerberus databases. Don't get any ideas though. You have access to the Cerberus files, and nothing more." Said Austin sternly.

"Whatever you say, Shepard. I'll be reading in the hold or somewhere near the bottom. I don't like a lot of through traffic. Keep your people off me. Better that way." Said Jack as she left the comm room.

"That one is going to be trouble. I can tell." Said Alaara.

"She won't try anything. After all, she does have bit of respect for me. Last time we met, I nearly killed her." Said Austin.

"Speaking of which, how is it that she knew you? You have you two met before?" Griffin asked.

"Something I should know about?" Liara asked, concernedly.

"It's nothing like that, love. She's not an ex-girlfriend." Austin said reassuringly as he kissed Liara's forehead. He then turned to Alpha Squad. "You remember a long time ago when I was on a freighter once that was attacked by pirates? You weren't there at the time."

"You're not gonna tell me that she was one of the pirates?" Sandra asked in surprise.

Austin nodded. "Most of the pirates were kept under control, but Jack, or Subject Zero as they seemed to call her, was not as easy to hold back. She and I clashed in the bridge when she tried to assume control of the ship. It was a very brutal fight. I was much stronger than her, but she made up for that with her biotics. She damaged half my suit and broke half my ribs; she also gave me that scar on my neck." Austin explained. "Though I left marks on her too. Managed to fracture her arm and gave her the scar she has on her neck. Nearly broke my sword doing it."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Griffin asked.

"When I saw her in that cryo, I didn't know if it was the same person. Back when we first encountered each other, she had less tattoos… and more clothes on." Said Austin.

"We'll have her watched." Said Alaara.

"No. Give her chance. She hates Cerberus just like we do, maybe her tone will eventually change." Said Austin.

"If you're willing to risk that…" said Alaara.

"We're part of this team, including her. If we don't trust each other, then the Collectors have already won." Said Austin. "The only way we can do this is if we all work together."

"No offense, Shepard. But it's a bit hard to trust someone when they don't trust you." Said Ventra.

"Well, as I recall, when I first formed this team together, you lot didn't trust each other. And look how that's turned out." Said Austin.

"True. But this is a slightly different situation. Back then we knew where our loyalties lay. Jack however is a complete uncertain." Said Alaara.

"I'm not arguing with this any longer. For now, just keep an eye on her. If nothing happens for the next few days, we give her a chance. You know the old human saying; never judge a book by its cover." Said Austin.

"As you wish, Major." Said Alaara as she saluted and all of Alpha Squad left the room.

* * *

"Jack's tattoos are beautiful; as colourful as her past, I'm sure." Said Kelly. "I have concerns with her temper, though."

"You too have worries about Jack?" Austin asked.

"I know she'll be solid under fire, but her attitude suggests deep personal issues. She pushes people away, yet approaches sex casually. I don't think she understands her own motivations. I wouldn't be surprised if she makes advances on you. Though given that she has a small bit of respect for you, I suppose she may think twice about that." Said Kelly.

"I'll be careful around her. Nor will I do anything that will piss her off." Said Austin.

"Though, please warn me if you do. I want a chance to hide." Said Kelly.

Austin decided to first check on Joker first before he went down to see Jack.

"Okay, Shepard, glad you're back, but keep an eye on that last one. We can only hold so much crazy." Said Joker.

"I assume everything is going well up here?" Austin asked.

"It was, until the thing started questioning my every move. It won't let anything slide." Said Joker.

"You were deliberately falsifying maintenance reports, Mr Moreau." Said EDI. Her avatar currently had its omni tool and it appeared to be scanning.

"Not falsifying. Tweaking. I always round up on task times. Makes us look good when we come in under." Said Joker.

"Harmless self-promotion. EDI, you can ease off on that." Said Austin.

"Very well, Shepard." EDI smiled.

"Yeah, go pout. I win." Said Joker smugly.

"Joker!"

"Right, right. No hard feelings. Good game."

* * *

"Hey." Jack greeted as Austin made his way down into where she had set up her residents.

"I like to know my team. Tell me about yourself, Jack." Said Austin.

"I'm still finding out about me. Thanks for letting me look at these files." Jack smiled.

"What've you found so far?" Austin asked.

"Cerberus is into some nasty things. No wonder you guys fuck with their operations. I'm gonna find something I can use from you. I just know it." Jack replied.

"And when you do?" Austin asked.

"I go hunting. Anyone who screwed with me pays. Their associates pay, their friends pay. The galaxy's gonna be a lot emptier when I'm done." Said Jack.

"Hey! I gave you those files as part of the deal, but I can easily take them away if it leads to you going on a killing spree, Jack!" said Austin forcefully.

"What I do after you're mission is my business, Shepard. And I think we both would rather avoid a repeat of our last conflict." Said Jack.

"What's your history with Cerberus anyway?" Austin asked.

"They raised me in a research facility. I escaped when I was a kid. Been on the run ever since, and they've been chasing me ever since. But soon I'm gonna chase them." Said Jack as she took out her pistol from her belt as she stood up from the bed she'd placed right below the engineering deck.

"You think about this a lot, don't you?" Austin asked.

"I go to sleep with this. I wake up with it. Everyone I kill, I pretend it's the ones that did this to me." Said Jack as she looked at the pistol like it was a childhood toy.

"You don't have to live in this pit, you know. I can provide you with better quarters." Said Austin.

"It's dark, quiet, and hard to find. That spells safety to me." Said Jack. The convict then suddenly leapt up onto the nearby table. "You know, this ship is a powerhouse. If I'd tried to take this ship as a pirate back then we defiantly would've struggled. Maybe you could go pirate. Live like a king. I could help."

"Now you're sounding like Kuril. This mission is too important. I don't have time for piracy!" said Austin defiantly.

"Think about it though! Lots of credits, and the freedom to go wherever you want." Jack smiled evilly.

"I'm warning you now, Jack. Try anything and I'll do far worse than give you another scar on the neck. Do you understand?" said Austin sternly.

"You're certainly brave to stand up to me like that and have no fear, Shepard."

"I'd prefer us to work together, Jack. However, if you're not willing to do that, you'll leave me no choice." Said Austin.

"This squad you have are interesting bunch, Shepard. Plus, you managed to survive a fight with me. That's enough to earn a bit of respect from me. For now, I'll follow your orders." Said Jack.

"Good to hear it. I should go." Said Austin.

"Yep."

* * *

Austin was currently sat on his sofa. The events on the Purgatory had made him really tired and he needed some rest. As he sat back and felt himself dozing off though, he heard the door open. Austin smiled slightly at this. He knew who it was since only one person apart from him had access to his quarters.

"Thought you might like some company." Liara smiled as she walked down the stairs and walked up to Austin.

"You know I'm always happy to see you, love." Said Austin as he patted a place next to him on the sofa. To his surprise though, Liara sat on his lap instead. He didn't mind though.

"So… anything you wanted to talk about?" Austin asked, now a bit unsure of what to say next.

Liara simply smiled and kissed Austin on the lips.

"No. I just wanted to be with you again." She said in a rather seductive manner. She then laid her back against Austin and looked sideways at him.

Austin smiled slightly as he saw where this was going. He loved it when Liara was sexy like this. Deciding to go along with this, he slid his hands up and down Liara's waist.

"Mmmmm." she moaned as she savoured the feel of her bond mate's hands on her curves.

"May I inquire as to the occasion?" Austin asked, pleased with the pleasure he was giving his girlfriend.

"Do we need an occasion to cherish our love for one another?" Liara smiled as she intertwined her hands with Austin's and helped guide his hands as he continued to move up and down her waist.

"Well, when you put it that way." Austin smiled as a very naughty thought crept into his mind.

The Helldiver untangled his left hand from Liara's and began sliding lower. Liara expression to interest when she felt this. Austin smiled at her is his hand dipped lower and lower until finally it reached the Asari's nether regions. Even through her outfit, Austin could feel the heat emanating from Liara's Azure. Liara started to moan as Austin started rubbing her pussy slowly but roughly.

"Mmmmmm! That feels good!" she sighed as she enjoyed the feeling, getting wetter by the second.

Austin's other hand meanwhile moved up to Liara's right breasts and began to massage it. Liara then turned to face her bond mate and they began kissing again, this time it was long and very full of passion.

"This the sort of – thing you had in mind?" Austin asked in between kisses.

"Almost. But I think we can improve this." Liara smiled slyly.

The Asari then took Austin's left hand away from her Azure and brought it up to her mouth. To Austin surprise, Liara then took his middle and index finger into her mouth and licked them a few times until she felt they were wet enough. She then once again brought them back down to her covered Azure. This time though, she used her other hand to open up her trousers, allowing Austin full access to her now rather wet pussy.

"Hmmm. Now things are getting interesting." Austin smiled slyly as Liara guided him in.

Liara drew in a sharp intake of breath as his fingers slowly slid into her pussy.

"Oh Goddess!" she moaned.

The Asari threw her head back in ecstasy as Austin began sliding his middle finger right into Liara's folds. Because she was so wet, he slid in without any resistance at all.

"Feels good?" Austin teased as he began sliding his finger in and out of Liara.

"Oh yes! Faster!" Liara moaned through gritted teeth.

Austin immediately complied and began thrusting in an out at a much faster pace, causing Liara to moan even louder.

"Ah! Ah! Ahhhh! Fuck!" she screamed.

Austin could now feel himself getting very aroused as he was giving his girlfriend this much pleasure. Liara probably sensed this too since she could feel a bulge hardening against her buttocks.

"You getting hard?" she gasped as Austin used his other hand to massage her breast.

"Yeah." Said Austin.

"Let me see it." Liara whispered slyly as her right hand slowly moved down to where his erection was still growing under his trousers.

"All yours love." Austin smiled as he continued fingering Liara but shifted his arms slightly to allow her access to the zip.

The Asari eagerly pulled it down and immediately went to work on undoing the single button and finally tugging his boxers down. Austin's half hard cock immediately sprang out and Liara took it in her hands. The Asari then settled back into her original position of sitting on Austin's lap and lying against him while he continued fingering her dripping pussy while she now started stroking his cock. He got even larger within seconds.

"Oh yeah!" Austin moaned as Liara stroked him slowly, but held him very tightly.

"I love your cock." Liara moaned as Austin resumed fingering Liara vigorously. His fingers where now completely coated in her juices. Liara used her free left hand to gather up some of her sweet nectar and then used it to coat her bond mate's now pulsing member.

"And I love your pussy…Oh god that feels good!" Austin moaned as Liara resumed stroking his now very wet cock. He repaid her by thrusting his hand in as far as he could.

"Oh Goddess!" Liara screamed. At the same time the Asari tightened her grip on Austin's cock and even used some of the lubricant to give the drumming mushroom head some extra attention.

"Oh Fuck! You certainly know how to give me a lot of pleasure, don't you?" Austin moaned as he nearly came right there from the sheer pleasure alone.

"Same can be said of you, my love!" Liara moaned, now nearing her climax. Then a thought came to her. "I've got an idea. You know we re-enacted one of my dreams? I've got another one we can do since we're still partly clothed."

Austin smiled slyly. "What did you have in mind?" he asked.

Liara smiled and the two untangled themselves for a minute. Liara then turned her back to Austin and smiled seductively. "Take of your jacket." She said.

Austin immediately did so and began taking his jacket and shirt off. As he did, Liara winked at him and slowly began pulling her trousers down, revealing her white lace panties. Austin couldn't help but whistle at the sight.

"Whoa! Seeexxy!" he said as he watched Liara pull her panties down too, revealing her magnificent blue behind and her dripping folds. She then turned around and slowly unzipped her jacket. Her large breasts quickly came free from their confines. To Austin's delight, she hadn't been wearing a bra.

"I get the feeling that I'm really going to enjoy this." Austin smiled as Liara sat back down in his lap in the same position they had originally been in. Liara decided to go a step further and brought Austin's right hand up to her now exposed right breast and his left hand back down to her dripping Azure which was now easy to access since it was now exposed. Liara too brought her right hand back to Austin's still hard, wet cock and resumed stroking it. Liara immediately moaned again in pleasure as her lover's finger slid back into her pussy. This time it didn't take long to bring Liara to the limit.

"I'm gonna cum!" she moaned.

"I'm getting close too!" Austin moaned. After that Liara hit her climax.

"Fuuuuuucck!" she screamed as she came all over Austin's hand. Once she'd come down from her orgasm, Austin slowly removed his hand from her Azure and brought it up to Liara's face. The Asari immediately took it in her free hand and put his fingers in her mouth, tasting her own juices.

"Mmmmm. Wow! Do I taste that good?" she asked as she licked at Austin's cum covered fingers.

"Yeah, you definitely do." Austin smiled as he also licked some of Liara's juices off his fingers.

Liara smiled and continued stroking his penis, enjoying its wet feel in her cum covered hand. Austin once again moaned as Liara's hand slid up and down his massive throbbing shaft.

"Ah! Ah… God you're so good at this!" he sighed. "I'm getting close!"

"I want you to come on my hand!" Liara moaned.

"My… pleasure!" Austin grunted as Liara's stroking sped up. A wet squelching sound came with every stroke due to the lubricant in Liara's hand. "AAAHHHHH!"

Austin buckled as the orgasm finally hit his body in force. Cum shot out in force, his thick heavy cream shooting right onto Liara's hand.

"Ha, ha! Oh, wow!" Liara moaned as her hand was covered in her bond mate's seed. The Asari slowly brought her hand up to her mouth and licked it up. "Mmmmmm! Delicious."

With the both of them now having had their release, they simply cuddled against one another.

"That… was incredible." Liara panted as she looked happily into her lover's eyes.

"I love you, Liara. You are by far the best thing that has ever happened to me." Austin smiled as he caressed Liara's waist.

"I love you too, Austin. And I think you're the best thing that is ever going to happen to me in my life." Liara smiled back before the two kissed. "We should do this more often."

"I thought you said we had a mission?" Austin asked teasingly.

"As long as it doesn't affect the mission, it'll be fine. Besides, it gives us strength and we both have something to come back to." Liara smiled.

Austin smiled back and the two kissed again. "Up for another round?" he asked.

"Definitely!" said Liara as Austin scooped her up in his arms and carried her over to the bed.

"Leave the jacket on though. It looks nice on you while you have it unzipped like that and have your tits on display." Austin smiled slyly.

Liara smiled back at Austin. "Kinky!"

* * *

**And there we go! Hope that was alright. Also, I do apologise that some of the action scenes in between story points are getting shortened, but i'm not the best writer with that sort of thing. With boss fights though, that is an exception though. Hopefully though, they will get better.**

**Horizon next!**


	12. Chapter 12, First Encounter

**Yes! Finished at long last! Thank you all for being so patient and I am so sorry for this being delayed so long.**

**Hope you enjoy the changes. It gets really interesting after the Collectors leave.**

**The First Encounters title doesn't just elude to the first meeting with the Collectors...**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**First Encounter**

At the moment, the where up to date. They had all the people on the dossiers so far. Austin had a feeling though that something else was bound to turn up soon.

Without anything to do at the moment, Austin decided to see how well Grunt was settling in. Sure enough, he found the Krogan where he was usually.

"Shepard." Said the Krogan as Austin entered.

"Just checking in. Making sure you're acclimatizing." Said Austin.

"The hold is to open. Not enough cover. Armour is limited. Warlord Granth would target here to scatter cargo, then focus on engines. That's what tank imprints show about human ships, anyway. It's how I learned from the tank – old pictures where memory is. Like holding a book for a child. Just "remember this," picture after picture. No help with finding a reason to care.

"What other human info is floating around in there?" Austin asked.

"Less that finger deep to sever your spine. Humans are soft. Salarians, asari, all soft. Quarians, not so much. Helldivers also are tough to take down. Turians, you have to work the blade, I guess. Don't see much point to it though. Heh, much point?" said Grunt.

"Ha! That's a good one!" Austin laughed.

"Had a feeling you'd get that joke seeing as you use a sword. I've seen you sparing with that Asari." said Grunt.

"What did Okeer want you to feel about this stuff?" Austin asked.

"Hate. But the pictures, the aliens in them, they don't do anything. i see blood, craters. But so what? My guts were grown from a thousand more worthy. The dead were weak. If they were strong, I wouldn't be needed. I don't' know why Okeer started teaching... When he turned on the tank the first time, I screamed. Weak, pitiful." said Grunt.

"So you started small. But you became what you are. Not everyone gets that chance." said Austin.

"I'm built for strength but didn't earn it. I just am. Those dead were strong enough to try, even if they lost. The perfect Krogan. Ignoring what made me. No strength in that. I'll take another look at what happened to the Krogan. Find a reason to care about it." said Grunt.

* * *

As Austin proceeded into the CIC. Kelly got his attention.

"Major, the Arkane Council wish to speak to you in the debriefing room." she said.  
Austin nodded and went to the comm room. The table disappeared into the floor and the holograms of the Council appeared before him.

"Shepard, we think we have them! Horizon - one of our colonies in the Terminus Systems - just went silent. If it isn't under attack, it soon will be." said Spartan.

"Have we heard anything from the Helldiver team stationed there?" Austin asked.

"Nothing. We're going to have to assume the worst. Has Mordin delivered the countermeasure for the seeker swarms?" Tarnack asked.

"Not yet." Austin replied.

"Let's hope he works well under pressure." said one of the unnamed Councillors. "There's something else you should know. One of your former crew, Ashley Williams is stationed on Horizon."

"Last I knew, Ashley was still Alliance. Why would she visit a colony out in the Terminus systems?" Austin asked.

"Officially, it's meant to be the Alliance's attempt to improve relations with the colonies. But they're up to something." Said Tarnack.

"We'll head straight there." said Austin.

"This is most warning we've ever had, Shepard. Good luck." said Spartan as the comm ended.

"Joker, set a course for Horizon. I've gotta go see the Professor." said Austin.

"Aye aye, Major." said Joker.

* * *

Austin found Mordin examining one of the seeker swarm drones. The bug flew around inside the case it had been placed in.

"Tell me you have something." said Austin.

Mordin looked at the bug for a minute and then turned back to Austin.

"Yes."

The Salarian walked up to his console and showed Austin the holographic plans that he had for the countermeasure.

* * *

Ashley Madeline Williams watched some of the children colonists playing a ball game in the fields. She couldn't help but smile a bit as she saw the sight. Walking next to her was another one of the colonists on Horizon, Lilith.

"Lilith, we've got a problem." she said.

"Still can't calibrate the targeting matrix?" Lilith asked.

"Those defence towers are useless if we don't figure it out." said Ashley.

"Sorry, Chief. Getting our comm systems back online takes priority." said Lilith.

"Yeah. Okay. Surprised people haven't tried to blame that one on me too." said Ashley coldly.

"People out here don't trust the Alliance. It's nothing personal." said Lilith.

At that moment, several Helldivers turned up. They were the team stationed here to protect the colony.

"Lilith, why are communications down?" asked the leader.

"We're not sure yet. We're still trying to get them back up." Lilith replied.

"Hope that's soon. If the Arkane Council doesn't hear from us for too long they'll send people to investigate. We don't like to raise false alarms. Especially when the Alliance is involved." said another, looking coldly at Ashley.

Ashley was not happy with that.

"I..." she said.

But before she could, everyone suddenly looked to the sky. There was something in the clouds.

"What is that?" asked Lilith.

Ashley un-holstered her M-8 Avenger and looked through the guns scope. The clouds slowly cleared to reveal a massive ship made out of what looked like rock. Several swarms of bugs started to fly out of the ship and right at the colonists.

"Get everyone to a safe house." said Ashley as the swarm got closer.

"Go! We'll cover you!" one of the Helldivers yelled as they and Ashley opened fire.  
All the colonists ran for a shelter as the whole colony became surrounded by swarms of bugs and gunfire. Lilith tripped as she ran and Ashley stopped firing in order to help her up.  
As she did, one of the bugs suddenly latched onto the Chief's shoulder and bit her. Ashley groaned in pain as she pulled the seeker off of her. Just as she tried to move she suddenly froze all over and couldn't move. She could only watch as the seeker swarms began doing the same to the other colonists. She saw Lilith disappear into the crowd.

Several minutes passed as things slowly got quieter and quieter. The swarms had found the colonists one by one. Then something new appeared. Ashley couldn't move, but she could move her eyes. She saw a large humanoid figure walk within her field of vision. It was insect like in appearance. It had four eyes and carried a long insect like gun. A few other of these creatures soon followed. Hovering next to them were some strange kind of pods. Then suddenly, one of them started to act odd. A deep menacing voice rang through the air as it happened.

"Assuming control!" it said.

The Collector was then suddenly lifted into the air by an invisible force. Then it's skin started to crack, emitting several lines of fire all over its body. The Collector then seemed to curl up as though it were ready to unleash something. Sure enough, it did and then landed back on its feet. All four of its eyes were now glowing very brightly.

The alien slowly walked up to the frozen Ashley who had been accidentally knocked over earlier.

"We are the Harbinger of their perfection. Prepare these humans for ascension!" said the lead Collector.

Ashley watched helplessly as another Collector picked up one of the frozen colonists and gently dragged him to a pod.

* * *

Austin didn't want to take any chances on this mission, given that this would most likely be their first encounter with the Collectors. As a result he'd chosen to take all of Alpha Squad with him.

All of the Helldivers, except for Austin were seated in the Hellhound. The drop ship would just occasionally shake as it descended.

"Approaching drop off point. EDI, you picking up anything?" Austin asked into his comm.

"I detect no activity of any kind." EDI replied as her holographic avatar appeared on the small holographic display that Alpha Squad were sat on either side of.

"Anything from the Helldivers? They have the latest in communication gear." Alaara asked.

"Nothing. I do not detect any suit signatures either." said EDI.

"It's quite ironic isn't it?" said Dash.

"What is?" Garrus asked.

"When we first came here, this colony was under attack by slavers. Now here we all here several years later and it's under attack again." said Dash.

"Sounds like there's a story behind that." said Griffin, now interested in what many knew as Alpha Squad's most intense and finest mission.

"Many years ago we came to this exact same colony world to stop Batarian slavers. They'd acquired some sort of massive ship that they were using to attack our outposts. We were unprepared for it though. They drove us from the planet and the colony was lost. After we defeated them though, colonists soon came back." Leena explained.

"How'd you beat them?" Griffin asked.

"We tricked them into a black hole. We got them to chase us across the Terminus Systems and engaged them in an intense dog fight until we both ended up in the pull of an unforeseen black hole." said Austin.

"We just managed to escape to safe distance using our Mass Effect core. The Batarians however had damaged theirs and they were unable to do the same as us. We all watched as their ship was crushed by the black holes gravity." said Ventra who was checking his snipe bow.

"That feels so long ago. And to think that it was what got us all the cross of glory." Dash smiled he sat back in his seat slightly.

"Shame I didn't join this team sooner." Griffin grinned slightly.

"You're not alone, Griffin. Liara and I are even new to this team than you are." said Garrus.

"I'm sure you'll prove yourselves too. This mission in particular is cross of glory worthy in my opinion." said Austin.

"Still seems a bit unfair though. It makes me feel out of place here." said Griffin.

"Don't say that! You may have only been with us for a year but you're no rookie. I made sure I only picked the best to join this team." said Alaara.

Griffin's mood brightened slightly and he smiled back at Alaara. "Thanks." he said.

"Just be patient, Griffin. Many of the best rewards are not given to you, you earn them." said Austin.

"I understand, Major." said Griffin.

At that moment, the alarm sounded indicating that the drop ship was beginning final approach.

"Alright everyone, gear up! Look sharp." said Austin as everyone stood up from their seats.

The ones that hadn't had their helmets on picked them up and fastened them on. The doors slowly opened revealing Horizons bright sunlight and wide open fields.

"Okay, two at a time. Alaara, Sandra, you first!" said Austin.

The two Helldivers walked over to the edge of the dropship and jumped.

"Next two, Ventra and Leena!" said Austin.

The same procedure was repeated until only Austin and Liara were left. The two lovers nodded to one another and both jumped. Like all the others, as they landed they created small craters.

"All clear. We'll radio when we're ready for pick up." Austin said to the Hellhound pilot through his communicator.

"Copy that, Major." said the pilot as the drop ship flew off.

"We're groundside. Mordin, you sure these armour upgrades will protect us from the seeker swarms?" Austin asked as he and Alpha Squad un-holstered their weapons.

"Certainty impossible. But in limited numbers, should confuse detection. Make us invisible to swarms... in theory." came Mordin's reply.

"In theory? That sounds promising." said Garrus.

"Experimental technology. Only test is contact with seeker swarms. Look forward to seeing if you survive." said Mordin.

"I'm gonna have a word with that Salarian after this." said Kraan.

At that moment though, the social interaction was interrupted by the arrival of several Collector, each of them flying on insect like wings.

"Contact! Contact! Get to cover!" Austin yelled as the Collectors all shot laser beams at them.

All of Alpha Squad immediately dove for cover, some even returned fire. The Collectors were definitely smart fighters. Despite this though, they hadn't counted on Alpha Squad's teamwork and coordination. One Collector however snuck up behind Dash and knocked him down. Before the insect creature could do anything though, Griffin impaled it on the large blade attached to his minigun. With the Collector dead, Griffin helped Dash up.

"Thanks. I'm gonna have to owe you that beer." said Dash.

"You already owe like five." said Griffin.

* * *

As Alpha Squad proceeded further through the colony they could see the massive Collector ship in the distance. Its sight was familiar to Austin. In fact it looked like the ship that had attacked the original Normandy two years ago.

"Major, we're getting all interference! Can't maintain a signal!" they were just able to make out of Joker's voice as the comm went static.

"The Collectors are disrupting communication." said Sandra as she tried to clear up the signal.

"We're on our own now." said Austin.

At that very moment, more Collectors appeared, this time though they weren't alone. Several human like figures were with them. They moved and looked like zombies. Well, cybernetic zombies to be more precise.  
Several of them lunged at the Helldivers, but like normal zombies they were pretty easy to kill once their heads were shot off. The rest of the Collectors quickly shared this. One husk however managed to jump onto Austin; the Major however retaliated by grabbing it by the neck, throwing it to the floor and smashing his armoured foot down on its head.

"Those things looked like the Husks the Geth used on Eden Prime." he said as he got his breath back.

"I thought the Geth got that technology from Sovereign." said Leena.

"Guess we've been right all along. The Collectors answer to the Reapers." said Alaara.

Alpha Squad carefully made their way around a corner and found themselves staring at a still intact Husk body.

"Looks human. Think it's one of the colonists?" asked Griffin.

"No. The Geth impaled their victims on giant spikes to turn them into Husks. But we haven't seen any." said Liara.

"The Collectors must have already had the Husks. Said Garrus.

Austin knelt down in front of the Husks and scanned it with his omni tool.

"These aren't the same creatures I fought on Eden Prime. These Husks are more advanced, evolved." he said.

"They still die like the others did!" said Kraan.

"The Collectors aren't getting away with more victims! Let's move out!" said Austin.

They quickly left the shelter they'd been in earlier. As they rounded the corner they found themselves staring at several pods. Still there were no colonists to be found.

"Everyone's gone, just like before." said Garrus.

"What the hell?" said Griffin as he examined one of the pods.

"Don't touch them!" Austin ordered.

Griffin did as he was told and stepped away from the pod. He could swear though that there was something inside it, something moving.

This thought however was interrupted by the arrival of more Collectors. This time though, something unexpected happened. One of the Collectors started to pulse violently and its skin cracked open in multiple places. The creature was then lifted into the air by an unseen force.

"I am assuming direct control!"

Bellowed a deep voice. The Collector then unleashed an orange shockwave of energy and landed back on its feet. Its four eyes were now glowing and small bits of fire were seeping from the hundreds of cracks in the Collectors skin.

Alpha Squad quickly went to cover as the Collectors fired on them. Even this new Collector was throwing biotics at them.

"We are the Harbinger of your genetic destiny!" boomed the Collector. "You will know pain, Shepard!"

"How does that Collector know your name?!" Liara yelled over all the noise.

"I don't know, but it's certainly not in a friendly way!" said Austin as he returned fire.

"You will know pain, Shepard!" Harbinger yelled as he threw a massive singularity at Austin.

Alaara however was quick to throw her own at Harbinger's attack and both singularities disintegrate before they could cause any damage.

Harbinger however was ready with more attacks and started hurling dark biotics all over the place.

"These things are really starting to piss me off now!" Ventra swore.

The Turian quickly loaded a round into his sniper rifle, sighted along the scope and let the string loose. The round hit its target and half of Harbinger's eyes were blinded as the round went right through and even killed another Collector.

Griffin then took this as an opening and unloaded his entire mini gun right into all the Collectors and lastly Harbinger who was still trying to see through his blindness.

"Releasing control!" it said.

Harbinger left the Collector body just as the rounds tore it to pieces.

"Remind me to never piss you off, Griffin." said Ventra as everyone recovered.

Just as they had all regained their breath though, the HUDs in their suits detected motion in the next building.

"Go in quietly. If it's one of the colonists, we don't want to scare them." said Austin as they all readied for entry.

The door opened and Kraan and Griffin went in first to make sure it was clear. Leena and Ventra soon followed and then everyone else. Just as the door closed however, there was s clanging sound and a paint can rolled out from behind some crates.

"Come out where we can see you!" said Austin.

Very slowly, a woman came out from behind the crates. She had a pistol in her hand. For a moment, the two sides had their guns pointed at each other. The woman seemed to hesitate though when she saw them more clearly.

"It's... it's you!" she said surprisingly. The woman put the gun away. She looked very happy to see them. Austin couldn't deny though that there was something familiar about her.

"Have we met?" Austin asked as he and Alpha Squad lowered their weapons.

"I don't suppose you'd remember. You and your squad rescued me and my friends two years ago on the planet Maltoor.

Now Austin remembered where she'd seen this woman before.

"Lilith? Well, this is a surprise." said Austin.

"It's okay, Delan! They're on our side." said Lilith.

Another colonist appeared from behind a nearby crate. He looked like a mechanic.

"Helldivers! Boy, am I glad to see you. We thought those things got you." he said.

"We're not the same Helldiver team that was stationed here. We're here to investigate the attack. Stop the Collectors from abducting humans." Austin explained.

"Those things are Collectors? You mean they're real?" said Lilith, rather shocked at this bit of news.

"I thought they were just made up. You know - propaganda to keep us in Alliance space. No! They got damn near everyone!" said Delan.

"What exactly happened? The slightest detail may be important." Austin asked.

"I came down to check on the main grid after we lost our comm signals. Then I heard screaming." said Delan.

"That massive ship then suddenly appeared out of the clouds. The Helldiver team covered us while we ran. I owe them for that." said Lilith.

"When I looked outside and there were these... swarms of bugs. Everyone they touched just froze. Just as I was about to seal the door, Lilith managed to get in. We had no choice but to seal the doors." said Delan.

"I wish we could've done more." said Lilith sadly. "It's just like last time."

"It's not your fault. The Collectors have very advanced technology, it's no surprise that you were all caught off guard." said Austin.

"Damn it - it's the Alliance's fault! They stationed that Chief Williams here and built those defence towers. It made us a target. The Helldivers were doing just fine without them." said Delan.

"If you have defence towers we can use them against the Collector ship!" said Ventra.

"You'd need to calibrate the targeting system first. It's never worked right." said Delan.

"Either me or EDI should be able to figure it out. We just need the location." said Leena.

"Head for the main transmitter on the other side of the colony. Pretty hard to miss. The targeting controls are at the base." Said Lilith.

"It's probably better if you two stay here. The seeker swarms can't see us, but they might see you. We don't want to lose any more people." said Austin.

"Yeah, that's what I was thing too. Plus, Lilith may have a gun, but she's no soldier." said Delan. "I'll let you out, but we're locking the door behind you. I'm not taking any chances. Good luck. I think you're gonna need it.

"Good luck, Commander. It was good to see you again." Lilith smiled.

"Major now actually. I haven't been a Commander for two years now." Austin corrected.

* * *

Still there was no sign of any more colonists. This was a bad sign. It obviously meant the Collectors were finishing up here. They could see more Collectors around the corners. At the moment, they were unaware of the Helldivers presence.

"Call your targets. We'll take 'em all at once." said Austin as he lined his sight up with one of the Collectors.

Alpha Squad did the same and lined up their weapon sights with their targets.

"Targets marked. 3... 2... 1... Fire!"

All Helldivers fired simultaneously and most of the Collectors fell. The Husks that had been with them roared and started running towards their enemies. The other Collectors fired on the Helldivers as Harbinger once again possessed one of them. It was nothing Alpha Squad couldn't handle, but it seemed once again that the Collectors had another surprise for them. Bringing up the rear of the attack was a different type of Husk. It was twice as large as a normal husk and had way more mass. Its right arm was replaced with a massive plasma cannon and its entire left shoulder was one massive storage of blue plasma.

The Scion, as it was called took aim at Alpha Squad and fired. The plasma caused a massive explosion which sent some of them flying. As it fired another however, Alaara threw up a huge biotic shield to shield them from it.

Harbinger however noticed this and threw a massive barrage of biotics at the Shield, causing Alaara to falter slightly. Austin fired a few shots from inside the shield as he tried to help Alaara up.

What happened next though took everyone by surprise. Sandra suddenly uncloaked behind Harbinger and grabbed him by the neck.

"No one tires out my wife, but me!" she yelled as she started punching Harbinger in the face really hard. Harbinger struggled violently to free himself, but Sandra refused to let go.

The Helldiver even took out her combat knife and stabbed Harbinger several times.

The Scion meanwhile had once again focused its attention on Austin and the others and fired another shot. Just before Alaara's shield could give out though, Liara threw up her own just in time. Hers was the same size but it seemed to be twice as strong. Alaara relaxed and allowed herself to recover briefly before she then went on the attack and threw a singularity at the Scion. The small black hole didn't lift the husks off its feet but it did seem to tear a few patches of skin off.

All the while, no one had noticed that Griffin had cloaked out of sight and was sneaking up behind the Scion. Just as the husk noticed him uncloak right behind it, the Helldiver impaled it on his minigun's blade many times. It took several stabs but eventually the Scion drew its last breath.

With that and the rest of the Collectors dealt with, Sandra finished dealing with Harbinger as the two wrestled with one another violently. As Harbinger was just starting to loosen Sandra's grip around his neck, Sandra took a small blue vial from her belt. With enough force to punch through a wall, Sandra smashed the vial into one of Harbinger's eyes and the fluid released.

"I will find you again!" Harbinger bellowed as he released control of the body again, leaving the Collector to be eaten alive by the liquid.

"Remind me to repay you deeply for that later, darling." Alaara smiled seductively at Sandra.

"Would've thought we'd see more of the colonists by now." said Kraan as he made sure all the enemies were definitely dead.

"They've probably been loaded onto the Collector Ship by now. We should hurry." said Garrus.

* * *

Alpha Squad quickly made their way to where the main transmitter tower for the anti-ship guns was located. Leena walked up to the nearby control panel and took off one of the plates.

"Right, keep me covered, guys. Time for me to do what I do best!" said the Quarian as she cracked her fingers back and began her work on the wires and the targeting system.

After a few minutes, Leena had managed to get the system online and had erased what bugs and errors she'd been able to. EDI would need to handle the rest since some of the errors and bugs were far too complex for even Leena to handle.

"Okay, I've done all I can. Time to let EDI take over." she said.

"Normandy, do you copy?" said Austin into his wrist communicator.

"Joker here. Signal's weak, Major, but we got you." came Joker's reply.

"I think these uninvited guests have overstayed their welcome long enough. EDI, bring the defence towers online!" said Austin.

"Errors in the calibration software are easily rectified, but it will take a few minutes to bring the towers to full power. I recommend a defensive posture. I will not be able to mask the increased generator output." said EDI.

"This is beginning to sound like something you'd do in a video game." said Dash.

"Don't start that again." said Ventra.

At that moment though, the banter was interrupted by the arrival of another new enemy.

Once again, it was another unwelcome surprise. This time though it looked more the sort of stuff out of a nightmare. The thing was some sort of massive spider creature. Unlike a normal spider though it only had four legs rather than eight. Like a Collector it had a triangular and insect like head with four eyes. What was the most intimidating feature about this... Praetorian though was that it's open mouth was filled with Husk skulls.  
The Praetorian flew gracefully into the area and landed hard, creating a biotic shock wave as it landed.

"Great. This just keeps getting better and better." said Alaara sarcastically as the Praetorian slowly edged towards them.

"We need a little help here, EDI!" said Austin.

Alpha Squad assumed defence positions as the Praetorian lifted back up into the air. It's four blue eyes started to glow brightly. Just as everyone noticed this it suddenly shot a massive blue beam of energy out of them. Sandra just managed to avoid the beam, but it still damaged her shields slightly as it scraped her.

"You should not have done that!" said Alaara coldly as she fired on the attacker. It didn't do much, but it did seem to cause a bit of damage.

Seeing that the Praetorian could be weakened, the rest of Alpha Squad fired on it as well. Angered by the irritation, the Praetorian went for another attack and suddenly slammed itself down on the ground with tremendous force. Not only did this create another shock wave but the Praetorian also unleashed several more as it screamed.

"Get back! Get back! Don't get too close!" Austin shouted as he managed to pull Dash out of the Praetorians attack range. "Right, you can mess with me, but you do not mess with my friends!" he said coldly as he set his Revenant to fully automatic.

Rolling out of cover, Austin let the machine gun loose and the Praetorian was bombarded by round after round. Despite that this caused plenty of damage it didn't hurt the Praetorian enough for it to cease its attacks. The creature's eyes once again went bright and it shot a beam from its eyes. Austin however had enough time to dodge it and rolled back behind a nearby crate.

"EDI! We need those guns online, now!" Austin yelled into his comm as Griffin distracted the Praetorian with his minigun.

"Target anti-ship batteries at 100%. I have control." said EDI. "Firing at Collector vessel!"

In the distance, the anti-ship guns started firing at the Collector vessel overhead. All the while the Praetorian continued firing and screaming at the Helldivers.

"We're wearing down its armour! Keep it up!" said Alaara.

The rest of Alpha Squad, Griffin especially, unloaded all they could right into the Praetorian. The machine screeched and seemed to clutch its head as it slowly disintegrated itself from all the damage.

In the distance, the Collector vessel was really taking a pounding now. The bottom of the ship readjusted itself and its main engine fired, causing the whole colony to shake.

"They're pulling out!" said EDI.

Two more shots were fired before the vessel took off and blasted into space.  
"And stay out!" Dash yelled triumphantly.

Delan and Lilith came out from where they'd been hiding. Delan watched helplessly as the ship vanished from orbit.

"No! Don't let 'em get away!" said Delan desperately.

"There's nothing we can do. They're gone!" said Austin, trying his best to sound reassuring.

"Half the colonies in there! Do something!" Delan repeated.

"They did all they could, Delan! If it wasn't for Shepard we'd be in that ship too!" Lilith said defensively.

"Shepard? Wait, I know that name. Sure, I remember you. You're some type of big Alliance hero." said Delan.

At that moment, a very familiar face came out from behind one of the crates. It was Ashley.

"Captain Austin Shepard. Captain of the Normandy, the first human Spectre, the hero of Elysium, saviour of the Citadel." she smiled at her old childhood friend. She then turned towards Delan. "You're in the presence of a god, Delan, and a ghost."

"All the good people we lost and you get left behind. Figures. Screw this! I'm done with you Alliance types." said Delan as he walked off and left the area.

Lilith could see were the conversation between Austin and Ashley would be going, so she decided to give them some space.

"I'll check on the other colonists." she said.

Lilith left and Ashley slowly walked up to Austin. The two looked at each other for long time before Ashley extende dout he rhadn and Austins hook it.

"I thought you were dead, Captain. We all did." said Ashley, sounding near the point of tears.

"I'm glad to see you too, Ashley." Austin smiled as he retracted his helmet. "How've you been?" he asked.

"I've been well, thanks. First things first though. You owe me an explanation. I spent the past two years believing you were dead. I would've followed you anywhere, Shepard. Why didn't you try to contact me? Why didn't you let me know that you were alive?" Ashley asked.

"It wasn't my choice. I was in coma for two years." Austin explained.

"You expect me to believe that?" said Ashley crossly.

"That's the truth. I swear to you." said Austin.

"He shouldn't have to explain himself. To you least of all, Ashley." said Liara defensively.

"Liara? You're a Helldiver?" Ashley asked surprised.

"It's a long story." said Garrus.

"So what about all these reports about you and Cerberus? Care to explain those as well?" Ashley asked.

"You believe those reports as well?" Alaara asked, crossly.

"Alliance intel said Cerberus could be behind our missing colonies. We got a tip that this would be the next to get hit. I went to Anderson, but he wouldn't talk. But there were rumours that you weren't dead, worse, that you were working for the enemy." said Ashley.

"Ashley, listen to me. Those reports about me and Cerberus are false. They let slip all these rumours to try and turn everyone against me." said Austin. "Plus, would the rest of my squad work with me if I was with Cerberus?"

"He's right. We'd rather die than work with those terrorists, regardless of whether Shepard was with them or not." said Alaara defensively.

"So you're still with the Helldivers?" Ashley asked, starting to sound persuaded.

"Yes. When I escaped the Cerberus facility I was on I went straight back to Arkadia. I'd never work for Cerberus, regardless of the situation." said Austin.

"But if that's true, why didn't you try to contact me? Let me know that you'd come back. You're file still lists you as killed in action and you're Alliance rank hasn't been reinstated either." Ashley asked.

"This mission required a lot of secrecy. We couldn't afford for the Collectors to know that we were on to them. We had to keep a low profile." Liara explained.

"Trust me, Ashley. I'd have let you know if I could. I can only tell you that I'm sorry." said Austin.

Ashley still didn't look happy, but it did sound as though she had been convinced now. Her mood seemed to brighten.

"So now that the Collectors know about you, what'll you do now?" she asked.

"Now, we wait until they make their next move. Since the undercover work is no longer required though, I think I may also get my identity reinstated. I think I'm ready to come out of hiding now and let the galaxy know that I'm back." said Austin.

"What about the Reapers though? Aren't they more of a threat?" Ashley asked.

"We have firm reason to believe that the Collectors are working for the Reapers. Don't worry, i intend to finish what we started two years ago." said Austin.

"I'm glad to hear it." said Ashley. Her anger looked as though it had gone now. After all, she could never truly stay mad at Austin.

"Tell me honestly though, Ash. Why are you here? I don't really buy the whole story of you trying to improve relations with the Alliance." Austin asked.

"I was... investigating you." Ashley admitted.

"What? I thought you were his friend! Besides, Anderson knows the truth as well. Why would he approve of this?" said Alaara.

"I was given this mission long before news reached us that you were alive. We didn't know about you at the time. Plus Anderson wanted to be sure that Cerberus wasn't behind the colony attacks. It's not that he doesn't trust you, but he had to know the truth." said Ashley.

"I think I need to have a word with him about his later." said Austin. He then turned back to Ashley. "So what will you do now? If you don't have another mission after this we'd be glad to have you on the Normandy. It'd be just like old times."

"I wish I could, Austin. I really do, but I can't. I have another assignment that I can't ignore." said Ashley regrettably.

"I understand. Do you want a ride back to the Citadel at least?" Austin offered.

"That... that sounds wonderful. Thanks, Austin." Ashley smiled.

Before the conversation could continue further though, there was a sudden loud boom and the whole place briefly shook.

"What's that?" Griffin asked as he pointed to something in the sky. It was leaving a crowd trail behind. As all of Alpha Squad looked up however, only too late though did they realise what it was.

"Missiles! Get clear!" Austin yelled.

Alpha Squad and Ashley didn't need to be told twice and the ran as fast as they could. Despite managing to clear of the impact area though, they weren't out of range of the incoming explosion though. The whole yard exploded as the two missiles impacted on the ground. Dirt, rocks and rubble were thrown everywhere and everyone was sent flying. Ashley could only briefly see Griffin trying to shield her from the explosion before it sent him flying and a hard rock collided with her head. Everything went black.

* * *

Ashley groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. Her head hurt like hell, she could see a bit of blood trickling from her forehead, her chest felt like it had been crushed, one of her ankles had been twisted and her right arm was pinned rather painfully under some debris. The marine winced in pain as she felt it all at once.  
The she started her hear something. As her hearing slowly came back she could hear voices. They were muffled at first but they slowly started getting clearer. Then she started seeing a silhouette through all the dust and smoke of the explosion. It was humanoid and female in appearance, but it looked like it was clad in some sort of armour. It also had something sticking out from its right hip and its right hand looked odd, almost... machine like.

"They have to be here somewhere. Those missiles weren't designed to kill, but even a Helldiver will take time to recover from that." it said.

As Ashley's vision slowly got better, a few more silhouettes appeared. One was another female, and the other a male. Guessing that they might not be friendly, Ashley tried to get herself free from the rubble but her arm was pinned very hard by the debris and her twisted ankle didn't help either. She couldn't see Austin or any of the other Helldivers either. This was very problematic.

"Spread out. Search the area! I want them found!" said Shadow as her eyes, or eye and cybernetic eye scanned the area.

Thanks to the data from the Illusive Man, she and the others had been tipped off that this colony would be the next to get hit, not only that, but Ashley Williams would be here too. This was the perfect opportunity for them to strike. With Ashley as a hostage, they could draw Shepard right to her and then she would be able to have her much wanted revenge. However, taking Williams hostage probably wouldn't be necessary since Shepard was actually here somewhere in the wreckage.

Miranda, who was stood near Shadow separated from the group. Wilson went to go with her but Shadow motioned for him to stay with her.

"Wait, she's here! I can sense her." said the Phantom coldly.

Upon hearing this, Ashley remained absolutely still. Despite that her heart was pounding inside her chest, she did her best to keep her breathing under control. The silhouette of Shadow edged closer and for a moment, she felt she was done for. Some of the dust and smoke slowly cleared and she was able to see Shadow a bit more clearly. Only now could she see the Cerberus logo and the Phantom's arm and also on the arm of Wilson. At that, all thoughts of Austin being with Cerberus vanished. Why work with a Helldiver just to screw them over now?

Shadow was now really close now. So close in fact now that she could hear the Phantom breathing inside her armour. Her fright began to increase even more when she saw Shadows cybernetic hand and her sword. The hand flexed several times, clearly ready to punch through a ribcage and tear a heart out. Ashley hadn't seen many things that scared her that much, but Shadow definitely went on top of that list.  
The Phantom took another step closer to Ashley and then seemed to look right at her. For a moment, Ashley saw the blue glint from Shadow's cybernetic eye which was causing the eye optics on the right side of her mask to glow blue rather than the usual red.  
Luckily for her though, the Phantom then changed direction and walked off. Breathing a sigh of she groaned quietly as she used all her strength to push off the debris that had her arm pinned. She suppressed a scream as it was finally freed. From the feel of things, the combination of the explosion and the debris had dislocated it. Her wrist didn't feel right either and had probably been twisted as well.  
Very slowly Ashley kicked away some the heavy rubble that was covering her legs and feet and slowly pushed herself up using her functional left arm. Now able to see clearly she looked around. There was no sign of anyone else, or any traces that a Helldiver had been buried here. Worry started to cloud her thoughts. Was Austin still alive? Had the blast killed any of his squad?

Right at that moment however, her thoughts were interrupted as something hard and metallic latched onto her neck and gripped tightly. Ashley looked immediately at the source of the attack... straight into the piercing optic eyes of Shadow. The Phantom had found her. Ashley tried desperately to loosen the cyborg's grip but the hand was just too strong.  
"Well well well... what have we here?" Shadow grinned evilly as she slowly hoisted the Gunnery Chief up by her neck. "Found her. She's a tough little girl."

More of the dust and smoke cleared and Miranda, Wilson and a few other Cerberus troopers, along with several combat mechs appeared.

"This her?" asked Wilson.

"Oh, it's her alright. I'd know this bitch anywhere." said Shadow. The Phantom turned back to Ashley who was still struggling against Shadow's cybernetic grip. "Now... what are we going to do with you, my dear?"

* * *

Austin groaned as he regained consciousness. The explosion from the missiles had sent him and the others flying while Ashley had become separated. He had seen her get hit by a rock, but after that everything had gone black. It was times like these that he was really thankful that Dell had taken some his personal feedback into account and had made some upgrades to the lockdown mode on the Helldiver armour so that they now activated immediately upon the user passing out rather than waiting a few seconds.  
Austin's HUD lit up and came back on as the suit scanned all his systems and armour for damage. After a quick few seconds, the lockdown deactivated he found he could move again. As he sat up, he could hear voice in his comm. It was a bit distorted, but it slowly cleared itself up.

"Alpha Squad, do you copy?! Shepard!" came EDI'S voice.

"Damn it, Major, talk to us!" Joker continued.

"I'm okay, Joker." Austin groaned.

Noticing that his visual feed was rather distorted, Austin gave his helmet a small punch and the feed managed to return to normal. He then quickly set his omni tool to scan for the others. Several holographic silhouettes showed up beneath the rubble. The first one he noticed was only partially buried, it was Liara.

"Are you alright, Shepard? There was a massive explosion down there and we lost contact with you." EDI asked.

"Some sort of missile. Knocked us out, but everyone looks okay." Austin replied as he quickly kicked away the rest of the debris and slowly lifted a huge plate off of his lover. The Asari's own lockdown deactivated and she started moving. Austin gently helped her up and gave her a small hug.

"Are you alright?" he asked concernedly. Liara's exterior didn't look damaged at all, but he never took any risks when it came to her.

"I'm alright, Austin. Just a bit shook up." Liara replied.

"You sure?" Austin asked.

Liara nodded and that was enough to convince Austin.

"Alright, help the others." he said.

The two separated and Austin went over to help Ventra out of the rubble. Liara meanwhile started digging Leena out. Slightly further away, Alaara had also woken up and was helping Sandra up.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked as she and her wife re-joined the squad.

"I think so. What the hell was that?" said Dash as he struggled to get himself out of a large amount of rocks that he'd become trapped in. "Errrr, can someone get me out of here?"

"Got it." said Kraan, grunting as he used all his strength to move away some of the heavier rocks. Dash managed to do the rest himself.

"Where's Griffin?" asked Garrus as he looked around.

Right as the Turian had spoken Griffin's name, a Helldiver arm punched out of some of the rubble right next to where Garrus was standing.

"I'm alright. Wow! I've heard of going out with a big bang, but that was way too explosive." he said as he climbed out and picked his minigun back up.

"You sure that wasn't you?" Ventra joked slightly as Austin helped him up and handed him his sniper bow.

"Missiles aren't explosives, my friend." Griffin replied.

At that moment, Austin suddenly heard something. It sounded like choking. Austin activated his magnetic view to see through the dust. What he saw, caused to stand back in shock slightly.

There was a small army of Cerberus agents gathered around another body. He guessed that was Ashley. Even through the magnetic view, he recognized the leader immediately. It was one of his oldest and most dreaded adversaries, Shadow.

"It can't be." he said.

"What? What is it?" said Alaara.

"Keep your voices down and switch to magnetics." Austin whispered as he crouched down and activated his cloak.

Alpha Squad activated their magnetic views first. Upon seeing that they weren't alone here they quickly followed Austin's example by crouching down and also cloaking.

"What are we gonna do? They've got Ashley." said Griffin.

"I've got a plan. It's risky, but we don't have much choice. Listen carefully." said Austin as he started going over the plan for rescuing his friend.

* * *

Ashley still continued to struggle as Shadow's cybernetic grip contracted around her windpipe. Still the Phantom glared at her through her mask.

"What do we do with her now?" Miranda asked.

"Now we simply wait for Shepard to come to us." said Shadow.

"In the meantime though, there's nothing saying that we can't have a little fun with this Alliance marine." said Wilson.

"I was thinking similarly." Shadow grinned evilly as Shadow unsheathed her sword and readied it to cut away some of Ashley's armour.

The Phantom hated the Alliance as much as she hated the Helldivers as well. That was why she joined Cerberus. Plus, she was bisexual so she had no objections to watching some of the others teach the Alliance marine a lesson. Just as the Phantom's blade started cutting however, a voice sounded behind them.

"Put her down, Shadow!"

Everyone instantly whirled around to see Austin standing on a nearby hill that had been caused by the debris. Only his plasma cannon was trained on them.

So... the great Major Shepard, at last!" Shadow said coldly as she used her left arm to sheath her sword and unclip her pistol which she then pointed at Ashley's head. "Glad to see you haven't changed much."

"I said put her down! I won't tell you again!" Austin demanded as the targeting laser for his plasma cannon pointed at Shadow's face.

"You're in no position to give orders, Shepard!" Shadow shouted as she now moved Ashley in front of her and pointed the gun right at her head. The other Cerberus soldiers and the mechs all pointed their guns at Austin. "Power down your suit now or this little bitch will be joining her pathetic grandfather in hell!"

At the mention of Shadow calling her grandfather pathetic, Ashley started struggling violently. Despite her best efforts though she was too weak from the missiles and the cyborg was too strong.  
Austin reluctantly accepted. He disengaged his weapon systems and then deactivated his armour all together.

Austin slowly dropped down to his knees and the mechs surrounded him.

"Put this on him." said Shadow as she handed a small device to Miranda.

Miranda did as she was told and walked up to Austin. The Helldiver looked at her for a very brief moment before she placed the device on his chest and it activated.

"What's that for anyway?" Miranda asked.

"That'll prevent him from turning his armour back on without us knowing." Shadow replied as she lowered her guard and her gun now pointed away from Ashley. She then smiled evilly at Austin. "I'd take a good look at her face if I were, Shepard. It's a fitting last sight for a doomed soul." she said as she now pointed the gun right at Austin helmet.

Austin couldn't help but panic slightly. He hadn't planned on this. Even without his shields and with all his suits systems turned off the bullet wouldn't do any damage, but at point blank range there was a heavy risk that it would shoot through his helmet. The armour was strong, but not that strong.

"So, what revenge is it this time? This is quite far just to get revenge for a lost arm." said Austin.

"I lost everything because of you, Shepard!" said Shadow angrily. "Hellspawn was the only family I had... and you took them from me."

"I do hate it when these things get personal." said Austin, doing his best to keep his cool.

"Always the modest one, even in the face of certain death. I'd give it up if I were you. Face it, Shepard. You've lost." said Shadow.

The Phantom however had been so preoccupied with Shepard however that she hadn't noticed Wilson walking up behind her with gun in one hand and a small EMP device in the other.

"Actually... you all have!" he said.

Before Shadow could react in time, Wilson placed the detonator on Shadow's cybernetic arm and it detonated.

Shadow screamed in pain as all her arm's motor functions were disabled. Her cyborg fingers sprang open and Ashley fell to the ground. Shadow also fell to her knees, clutching her now disabled arm in sheer pain.

"Wilson, what the hell..." said Miranda as she reached for her SMG. But Wilson already had his down gun pointed right at her head.

"Don't try it, Miranda! That includes you too!" he shouted to Miranda and the other Cerberus soldiers. The mechs simply remained where they were since Wilson had secretly hacked them, just as he had back on the Lazarus station when Austin had escaped. "Now if you'll relieve yourself of your firearms." he said.

The Cerberus soldiers did as they had been told and so did Miranda.

"You backstabbing..." Shadow swore between gritted teeth.

Despite being disabled, the arm was still causing her extreme amounts of pain. Too much pain for her to fight back or get up.

"Well I learned from the best, Azula." said Wilson as he took Miranda's SMG from her and threw it out of her reach.

"So it was you. You were the one who hacked the mechs on the Lazarus station!" said Miranda coldly as she stood back slightly.

"Shepard's escape was not part of the plan but it did serve as a fitting distraction." said Wilson.

"But why, Wilson? Who bought you off?" Miranda asked.

"I wasn't bought off. I never had any love for Cerberus anyway. I've worked for the Shadow Broker for a very long time." said Wilson. "Shepard's body originally belonged to the Shadow Broker, and he wants his property back."

"Wilson, you can't trust the Shadow Broker. He worked for the Collectors." said Miranda.

Unknown to anyone, Shadow had secretly powered her arm back up and had removed the small EMP device. True the EMP had disabled her arm's systems, but the Phantom was very smart. Her cyborg arm's main systems weren't EMP resistant... but her backup systems were. Her arm quietly powered back up and she readied for sneak attack on Wilson.

"Oh, enough of this, Miranda! Nothing more tires than last minute heroics!" said Wilson.

Shadow seized her chance and lunged at Wilson. The two wrestled with one another violently as Shadow's cyborg arm punched Wilson hard in the face causing blood to spurt from his mouth. Miranda also tried to attack but Wilson noticed this. He managed to free his gun arm from Shadow's grip and smashed her in her in the face with it, knocking her to the ground.

With Miranda temporarily knocked out, Wilson's attention went back to Shadow. Seeing an opening, he kicked the Phantom hard in the stomach, causing her to loosen her grip on his arms. Just as he recovered though, Shadow disappeared completely from view as she activated her own cloaking device.

The other Cerberus soldiers moved to pick up their weapons but Wilson saw this and fired a warning shot at them. He then went back to looking for Shadow.

"Ah, hide and seek is it? Or should we play, search and destroy?" he said challengingly.

Miranda, who had recovered from her head blow, noticed Shadow hiding behind a crate just out of Wilson's view. She decided to at least try and help the Phantom. Perhaps her attitude towards her would improve.

"Wilson!" she yelled.

Wilson whirled around to face her. Sure enough, Shadow uncloaked right behind him and grabbed his right wrist with her cyborg hand. Before Wilson could react in time, Shadow gave his wrist a violent twist, snapping the bones and causing the gun to fall free. Shadow then performed a very fast move, twisting Wilson's arm around as she did so. Using her left hand, she unsheathed her sword from her right hip. Wilson only had a few seconds to realise this before Shadow thrust the blade right through his heart and twisted it violently several times to cause as much pain as possible.

"No one betrays me, Wilson. Nobody! " Shadow snarled.

Wilson only looked helplessly at the blade sticking out of his heart for a few seconds before all life left him and he went limp.

"Get off my sword!" said Shadow as she carelessly pushed Wilson's dead body off her blade.

"Good moves, Azula." said Miranda as Shadow rather surprisingly helped her up.

"Smart move with the distraction, Lawson. Gave me a perfect opening at that bastard." said Shadow as she put her sword back in its holster. The rest of the Cerberus soldiers picked up their guns and relaxed.

"Now, were we?" said Shadow as she picked up her dropped pistol. "Ah yes, you."

During the whole commotion, Ashley had tried to crawl to safety, but with dislocated arm, and a twisted ankle, she hadn't got far. She froze as Shadow pointed the gun at her.

"Killing her wasn't part of the plan, Azula." said Miranda.

"Plans change, Lawson. And you would do well to cease questioning me." said Shadow.

"We had a deal!" said Austin.

"You killed my brother, Shepard! Now I will make you feel my pain! Now, you will suffer for it!"

"No!"

There were two loud shots as Shadow fired...

* * *

**To be continued...**

**See you soon and please do comment!**


	13. Chapter 13, Illium

**I'm very pleased with how this one turned out. Got it done before the planned deadline (Saturday) and even managed to include in more content than planned.**

**So a few things that this Chapter will cover, over than Illium.**

**The start of another romance couple**

**A very well written fight scene between Shepard and Shadow**

**And also the introduction of the character who is taking Liara's place as an information broker. I'll bet some of you have been wondering how that will work out. I'll at least say that the character in that role was mentioned in the first story and also had a brief speaking part, but never actually made a physical appearance, until now.**

**Please do enjoy, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**Illium**

Ashley looked down at where the bullets should have been in her chest. There was nothing there and she felt no pain.

"What?" said Shadow.

The Phantom's thoughts were interrupted however as Griffin uncloaked right in front of her and punched her hard in the face.

Almost immediately a massive brawl broke out as the rest of Alpha Squad uncloaked and started fighting with the other Cerberus soldiers.

Miranda reacted quickly and reached for her SMG, a plasma blast from Griffin's cannon however shot it out of her hand.

"Oh no you don't!" said Griffin.

Austin meanwhile was still offline. True to what Shadow had said, the device was preventing his systems from turning back on. It hadn't hacked anything, so the security was still intact, but he couldn't turn anything on. In fact, he couldn't even move because his suit needed to be on in order to move.

At that moment however, Liara uncloaked in front of several of the mechs and cut them down with her sword. The rest of the mechs were too busy trying to fight the rest of Alpha Squad that they were too busy trying to fight the other Helldivers.

Liara knelt down in front of her bond mate and removed the small device from his chest. Almost immediately, all the armour's systems came back online and he stood up.

"Thanks, love." he said.

Right at that moment however, he saw Shadow get up from where she'd been knocked down earlier and she charged right at him.

"Move!" he yelled as he pushed Liara out of the way and allowed Shadow to charge into him knocking him right into one the nearby buildings.

The impact of smashing right through a wall caused both opponents to separate for a moment. They were quick to get back up on their feet though and were now ready for a fight.

"This is between you and me, Shadow." said Austin as he readied for what would no doubt be a very violent fight.

"I'm going to enjoy this!" said Shadow as she cracked the knuckles on her left hand. "You're going down, Shepard."

"Well then, what are you waiting for? I'm right here." said Austin challengingly as he and Shadow slowly walked toward one another.

Austin was the first to attack as he delivered a very hard punch to Shadow's face. Shadow quickly attacked back with her own punch and then a quick second one as well. She then followed that with a blow from her elbow as well. She went for another swing but Austin dodged this one by ducking under it. He delivered a swift punch to Shadow's stomach as he did so. This was then followed by a haymaker blow but Shadow employed an elbow block. Austin's other strike was also blocked by Shadow crossing both her arms and pushing his arm away.

Austin reacted fast to this however and charged Shadow right into one of the walls. Both the Phantom's arms were free however and she managed to get a hold of Austin's arm. Twisting the two around, Shadow used this to slam Austin's face, or helmet rather, against a nearby table. Due to the excessive strength of Shadow and Austin, the Helldiver left a massive dent in the table as his helmet smashed into it.

Shadow did her best to keep him there, but the Helldiver still managed to push himself away and then gave violent push against the table that sent both of them against the wall again. It only hurt Shadow though and Austin felt the Phantom's grip on his arm loosen a bit. Seizing the opening, Austin smashed his elbow into Shadow's face and then followed this with a full blow from his arm. Shadow lost her grip and Austin's arm was now free again.

Back up to fighting speed again, the Helldiver attempted another haymaker with his left arm but Shadow once again used her arm to block the attack. Austin swung another punch at her, but she dodged under this one and gave Austin a sharp kick, sending back against the table he'd been smashed on earlier.

Not wanting to give Shadow a chance, Austin charged her again, smashing her against a nearby plant which shattered upon contact with the Phantom's armour. Shadow tried the same maneuver she had used last time and attempted to get ahold of Austin's arm again. The Helldiver had counted on this happening though and he once again pushed her against a stack of shelves. Like the plant, they too got smashed to pieces.

Using her strength, Shadow managed to flip the both of them around and she now had Austin's against the wall instead of her. Austin however reacted fast and pulled up one of her thighs, causing her to lose her balance and fall on her back. Before Austin could deliver another attack, Shadow used bother feet to kick him away. With the Helldiver knocked back Shadow used a flip to get herself back on her feet. She then jumped at Austin, punching him as she did so. Austin took another swing at Shadow, but she dodged under it again and used this to get behind her opponent. Before Austin could react in time, Shadow wrapped both her arms around him and flung him through the glass window they'd been fighting in front of. As Austin slowly got up, Shadow followed through the window.

By the time she'd climbed through, Austin had managed to get back up again and the two charged each other. Austin had more strength and mass than Shadow and so he ended up pushing her, smashing her head hard against a locker in the process. Taking advantage of the head knock, Austin whirled Shadow around and gave her another hard punch causing her to step backwards and hit her head on another window. There were glass shards all over the floor now.

With Shadow still dazed, Austin took the opportunity weaken her while it lasted. He took her head and smashed it again against another locker and then punched her again. By this time though, Shadow regained her senses and grabbed Austin's incoming wrist. She attempted her down punch but Austin did what she'd done and grabbed her wrist.

The two opponents wrestled with one another violently as they tried to shake each other's grip. An idea then came to Austin when he noticed the wall behind them. He brought his head back and then thrust it forward giving Shadow a violent head butt. The Phantom released her grip over Austin's wrist and attempted another swing at him.

Austin quickly let go of Shadow's wrist and ducked under her attack. Summoning up all his strength he then charged Shadow and the two smashed right through the wall and back into the courtyard where everyone was still fighting. All the mechs had been destroyed now, but the soldiers were still putting up a tough fight.

Both opponents were slow to get up due to their tiredness and dizziness form earlier. Just as Austin managed to stand up though, Shadow noticed this and swung both her legs at his, causing him to fall on his back. Next, Shadow got back up as Austin rolled onto his front. He could see Liara noticing the fight. She was running over to help.

"No! I got this! Help the others!" he said.

Liara did as she was told and ran back to help Griffin who was struggling with Miranda's biotics.

Austin noticed Shadow's gun at her feet and went to reach for it, but the Phantom was just as fast as he was. Shadow quickly kicked the gun away and delivered a swift punch to his helmet with her cyborg hand.

The punch was way harder than Austin had anticipated and he lost his footing again. Dazed slightly, he tried to get up again but Shadow delivered another blow in the form of a kick.

As she went for another however, he was ready for her this time. Just before her foot made contact with him, he grabbed it in his left hand. Shadow only had a few moments to notice this before Austin brought his other hand around her leg and twisted it.

Shadow lost her balance as her whole body twisted with her leg. Landing on the ground again, she had just enough time to notice Austin's next attack as he attempted to use the blade on his elbow to stab her. Shadow instantly rolled to the side and Austin's elbow blade made contact with nothing but dirt and rocks.

Seizing this opportunity, Shadow grabbed Austin's helmet with her left hand and began using her cybernetic wrist to wrap around his neck and choke him. Shadow had fought Austin enough times to find a few chinks and weaknesses in Helldiver armor. The necks necks were armored, but the user could still be chocked of you squeezed tightly enough.

Austin desperately grabbed at Shadow's arm as her strong cybernetics contracted around his neck. Realizing that it wasn't doing any good, he felt around hastily for anything to use. Just as his vision began to blur he found something hard, a rock. Without even hesitating he smashed it against Shadow's helmet.

The left side of Shadow's helmet was smashed in as the rock connected hardly with her left red eye optics. Now only the blue ones one the right side were working and she was once again left dazed by the attack.

Austin got back up for another attack and readied a punch for Shadow while she was down. The Phantom however counterattacked with a swift kick to Austin's helmet. It only knocked him back, but it was enough time for Shadow to swing herself back up onto her feet. Austin was still getting his bearings back from the kick and Shadow seized that opening. She charged at full speed and punched Austin right in the stomach with her cyborg hand. The sheer force of the punch left Austin very winded. However, the Helldiver never gave up that easily and he charged Shadow with as much strength as he could. Shadow failed to react fast enough and was hauled off her feet as Austin charged right into her and smashed her on the ground.

Once again though, Shadow readjusted her strategy and rolled on top of Austin. She only managed one punch though before Austin managed to swing a leg around, pushed her off him and slammed her on the ground, hard.

What happened next took Austin by surprise. Shadow suddenly glowed with biotics and charged Austin very hard. The sheer force once agains ent the two flying. They both crashed against the tower.

Austin had really had enough of this and he kicked Shadow off of him. The two continued to wrestle violently amongst all the other Cerberus soldier who were fighting Alpha Squad. Tiredness and exhaustion eventually got to the two and the fight soon turned to simple punches again. After several hits, Austin mistimed one of his and Shadow grabbed his arm. Before Austin could react in time she grabbed his head and smashed him right into a massive rock.

At the sound of this, the fighting seemed to cease. Shadow simply looked at everyone. Had she really one this time? Her answer however can in the form of a massive rock as Austin picked it up and smashed it against her.

Shadow staggered before she fell and her mask ended up in a nearby fire that was still burning from the missiles. Her mask kept her safe from the flames, but it still pissed her off big time. She clambered back up to see Austin standing a few metres away from her. She wasn't delaying the inevitable any more. She raised her cyborg arm and a small plasma cannon appeared out of her wrist. Austin immediately reacted to this and his down plasma cannon activated.

"Put your hand down." he said calmly.

"I don't take orders from you, Shepard!" Shadow replied.

"You don't have to do this, Shadow." said Austin, trying to diffuse this.

"You want to try be a hero, take your shot!"

"Put it down."

"You gonna take a shot?!"

"Put it down!"

Both plasma cannons charged up. This would not be pretty.

"You put it down!"

"Drop it, Shadow!"

Both cannons fired at the exact same time. As the two shots met the set of one massive explosion which sent everyone in the courtyard flying. All was silent for several seconds.

* * *

Austin slowly got up. The field looked just the same as it had done, except more wreaked than ever now. The rest of Alpha Squad had also recovered and were slowly getting up.

"Any sign of them?" he groaned as Liara helped him up.

"No. I think it go then all." said Alaara.

"I don't think they're gone. Shadow's survived worse than that. She'll be back!" said Austin. He then looked around urgently as he suddenly remembered. "Where's Ashley?!"

"I've got her right here!" said Griffin as he came into view carrying Ashley in his arms. "She's badly hurt, we need to get her to the Normandy immediately.!"

"Joker, send the shuttle to pick us up. We've had enough of this colony." said Austin.

* * *

Ashley was immediately rushed to the med bay as Austin went to talk to the Arkane Council. He would join the others in a minute.

Griffin gently laid Ashley on one of the beds as Doctor Chakwas examined her. She was still conscious but didn't look in the best shape.

"Dr. Chakwas? What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise.

"Long story, Miss Williams. Good to see you too." Karin smiled.

"How are you feeling?" Griffin asked as his helmet retracted.

For a moment, Ashley was left a bit speechless as she saw the demolition expert's face. He was rather handsome looking and it was no secret that she always loved a man with a lot of muscle.

"I've been better." Ashley groaned as Chakwas began dabbing at Ashley's forehead with a small wet cloth.

"You'll be alright." said the doctor.

"Are you new to Alpha Squad? I don't remember seeing you before." Ashley asked.

"I only joined about a year ago. I'm the demolition expert." Griffin replied as he sat down next to the bed. There was something about Ashley that he really liked. He could see why she and Austin were good friends.

"What's your name?" Ashley asked.

"Griffin."

"That's it? Just "Griffin"?

"No, that's my call sign on the team. My real name's Alex Wilson." Griffin replied.

"Well, nice to meet you, Griffin." Ashley smiled.

Griffin couldn't help but smile back. Chakwas also smiled when she noticed. She could already tell where this was going.

* * *

"Shepard, good work on Horizon. Hopefully, the Collectors will think twice before attack another one of our colonies." said Councillor Spartan.

Austin was currently in the comm room. He'd needed to let them know that the Collectors weren't the only enemy they'd have to be careful with.

"It's not a victory, Councillors. We interrupted the Collectors, but the still abducted half the colony." he said.

"That is deeply regrettable. But it's better than an entire colony, and more than we've been able to accomplish since the abductions began." said Tarnack.

"The Collectors will be more careful now that the know we're on to them, but we think we can find other ways to lure them in." said of the unnamed councillors.

"Whatever those plans are, we need to make sure they don't abduct any more of our colonies." said Austin.

"We want the Collectors stopped for that very reason, Major. That's why we sent you after then. We're devoting all our resources to finding a way through the Omega 4 relay. We have to hit them where they live." said Spartan.

"Fight 'em in their down home? I like the sound of that." said Austin confidently.

"I might sound simple, but it's not. Your team will need to be strong... as will their resolve. There's no looking back." said another Arkane.

"What do you mean?" Austin asked.

"Shepard, once we find a way through the Omega 4 relay to the Collector homeworld... there's no guarantee you'll return. To have any hope of surviving, you, Alpha Squad - and your entire team - must be fully committed to this." Spartan explained.

"So it's a suicide mission. Don't worry, Councillors. Alpha Squad and I have face missions like this before. We can do this." said Austin.

"Good to hear that, Shepard. Even from the beginning we never have doubted you." said Tarnack.

"So what happens now?" Austin asked.

"For now, we wait until the Collectors make another move. When the do, we'll be ready for then this time. Until then, we've forwarded three more dossiers. You keep building your team while I find a way through the relay." said Spartan.

"Before I go Councillor, there's something you should know. The Collectors may not be our only problem." said Austin.

Austin explained everything that had happened to the Council. They were rather surprised to hear that Cerberus had got involved in this.

"Even if Cerberus are against us, what makes you so sure the just as big a problem?" asked one of the unnamed.

"They weren't alone. Shadow's back." said Austin.

Some of the Council murmured to one another at the mention of Shadow's name. Some even fell silent.

"Shadow? The Cerberus assassin? Impossible! She's supposed to be dead." said Spartan.

"She's made a habit of cheating death, Councillors." said Austin.

"If Cerberus seem this determined to try and stop us, them we will indeed have to be careful." said Tarnack.

"Agreed. We will have to adjourn this meeting. Be careful out there, Shepard. The Collectors and Cerberus will be watching for us." said Spartan.

The holograms disappeared and Austin stepped off of the table. Alaara and Liara were waiting for him.

"So we're really going to do it? Take the fight to the Collectors in person?" asked Alaara.

"Yes. They're powerful, but we've got what it takes. We've faced many missions like this before and we've still got plenty of tricks from then. If anyone can stop then, we can." said Austin.

"I know. I'm not saying we can't do this. I'm looking forward to the action in fact after seeing what those monsters did on Horizon. Still... it makes you think." said Alaara.

"What do you mean?" Austin asked.

"Horizon just made it hit home. What we're doing. What we're up against. Sandra and I are gonna go take care of a little unfinished business. I imagine some of the others are too - getting some closure." said Alaara as she left the room.

Austin turned to Liara.

"You gonna be okay? Things got intense down there." he asked.

"I'll be fine, Austin. Your strength gives me strength. I am with you until the end." Liara smiled.

Austin smiled back and gave Liara a kiss on the cheek.

"Come on. Let's go check on Ashley."

* * *

As the couple entered the med bay, they found that Griffin was still sat next to Ashley and appeared to be keeping her entertained by telling her about some of the past missions he'd done with the squad. Austin hadn't seen Ashley this happy in a long time. He couldn't help but notice they way they two looked at one another.

"And them he said "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" Griffin laughed as he finished recounting one of the events on the Purgatory. Ashley laughed along with him.

The Chief looked much better now. Most of her wounds had been cleaned now and her arm had been popped back into its socket. Her ankle didn't look too bad either. Them again, Austin had expected that Ashley would be alright. She always had been a tough girl.

"Hey, Ashley. How you doin?" Austin asked as he sat down next to Griffin.

"Doing well, thanks. Stings a bit, but it's nothing i'm not used too." Ashley smiled. "I feel I should apologise for doubting you. Alaara was right. You shouldn't have to explain yourself to me."

"It's alright, Ashley. I don't blame you for being cross at me. I'd probably feel the same sort of way in your position. It's hard when you haven't seen anyone for two years." said Austin.

"Still, i'm sorry. I was wrong to even think for a minute that you were working for Cerberus. I know you better than that." said Ashley.

"I feel I should tell you, we need to head to Ilium first, so unless you're okay with booking another passage to the Citadel you may be staying for a while. I know you will probably still decline, but they offer is still open." said Austin.

"Trust me, Austin. I really do wish I could join you, I really do." said Ashley.

"Well, since you're okay, we should leave you to get some rest." said Austin as he and Griffin stood up.

"See you soon, old friend. It's good to have you back." Ashley smiled.

"Same here, Ashley. Same here." said Austin.

* * *

Illium was definitely what Austin would call a beautiful city. Built by the Asari many years ago, Illium was a classic garden world developed to serve as entrepot between the Terminus Systems and the Asari Republics. It was popular place for some Helldivers as well since it was one of their best places of operations, trading and many other things in the Terminus Systems. To abet this trade the normally stringent customs laws of Council space on product-safety-proscribed materials and sapient trafficking were more relaxed that many other places in Asari and Council space. Officially, Illium was not an Asari world and was only colonized and operated by asari corporate interests. This gave it the same legal latitude enjoyed by the human corporate research enclaves of Noveria. Illium was one of the youngest Asari colonies settled during the 7th Expansion Wave. The first child born on the world was only now reaching her middle age. The world was hot and massive; ground settlement was only possible at the higher polar latitudes. In more equatorial locations the population was housed in arcology skyscrapers to escape the heat of the surface.

It was still a marvel to behold for him though. He'd only been here once before and that had been in the lower, darker, regions.

Austin decided on taking Liara, Sandra and Alaara for the small tour. He just hoped that they two would behave themselves and not sneak off somewhere to have sex while he wasn't looking. Not that he wouldn't mind some time alone with Liara. A world like this was the perfect place to have a dinner date with her. That reminded him in fact that he and Liara still had yet to do something like that.

As they Helldivers disembarked, Ashley also followed then. She had decided to leave early and book passage to the Citadel on another ship. As the airlock opened they found themselves greeted by and Asari and two mechs with guns. They Asari had several gold tattoos on her face and was dressed in a surprisingly revealing dress. So revealing in fact that Austin had to remind himself that her eyes were up there and that he had to stop staring at her smooth hips or her breasts.

"Welcome to Nos Astra, Major Shepard. We've been instructed to waive all docking and administration fees for your visit. My name is Careena. If you need information about they area, it would be my pleasure to assist you." said the Asari.

The eyes of the mechs changed from red to white and Careena bowed her head in greeting.

"Who instructed you to waive the fees?" Austin asked. It seemed a bit strange.

"The order came form Zhi Shang Ren, or Xun as she likes to be referred to. She paid all fees on your behalf. She also asked that I direct you to speak with her at your convenience. She's near the trading floor." Careena replied.

"Xun's here? What's she doing?" Austina asked. It was quite a surprise, but a very welcome one to hear that they Helldivers information broker was here. She and Alpha Squad went back a very long way.

"She is here on behalf of the Helldivers to try and improve trade relationships between the Helldivers, Nos Astra and the Terminus systems. Nos Astra is based upon trade. Information is aluablecurrency , and Xun seems to feel right at home here. As I said, you'll find her near the trading floor. She has been looking forward to seeing a very old friend." said Careena.

"Well, thank you very much for the greeting, Careena. I hate to cut this conversation, but I have a very busy schedule ahead of me." said Austin.

"I understand. Again, welcome to our city, Major. Please enjoy your stay." Careena smiled.

"I'm sure we will." said Alaara seductively as she and Sandra eyed up Carrena. The Concierge Asari couldn't help but blush a bit.

Two of the three new dossiers they Arkanes had provided were here on Ilium. A Drell assassin, Thane Krios and an Asari Justicar named Samara. The third dorrier had been Tali, but the had already been closer to Ilium, so Austin had decided to get those two done first.

"Customs records indicate a justicar named Samara is visiting this port, Shepard. The information broker, Xun, may have more information. Her office overlooks the trading floor. You may also wish to speak with her regarding Thane Krios, the assassin on your dossier, as well." said EDI.

"So... I guess this is goodbye." said Ashley as she turned to Austin and the others. Griffin had also disembarked in order to say goodbye to Ashley.

"Not completely. I'm sure we'll see each other again, Ashley." said Austin.

"Yeah, I guess so. Just... don't do something stupid, like die again." said Ashley.

"And put you through the same misery again? Not on your life." said Griffin.

"Thanks Griffin. It was good to meet you, and thanks for saving me." said Ashley as she planted a small kiss on Griffin's cheek. Unknown to the others, she handed something to Griffin.

" _Call me."_ she whispered.

Griffin quickly regained his composure and smiled at Ashley.

"Goodbye, Miss Williams. May the lord watch over you." he said.

"You believe in God?" Ashley asked, surprised.

Griffin simply nodded.

I know you do as well. Shepard told me a lot about you." he said.

Ashley just smiled at the Helldiver and then turned to Austin.

"Good luck against the Collector's, Shepard. Come back in one piece." she said.

"Goodbye, Ashley. Stay safe out there." Austin smiled as he and Ashley shook hands. They Alliance marine them left and disappeared into the crowd. Austin them turned to Griffin. "Now, what did she give you?" he asked.

"What?" said Griffin trying to sound surprised.

"Don't try to hide it, Wilson. I saw her give you something." said Austin as he indicated to Griffin's hand. They Helldiver reluctantly handed it to him.

"Her contact number?" Austin asked, slightly surprised.

"I guess you could say that we've... got an eye for each other." said Griffin bashfully. "We'll keep in contact and see how it goes.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend before?" Sandra asked.

"Yes. She was a Blue Sun. As you can probably tell, that didn't work out." Griffin replied.

"Just be sure you treat her right." said Austin.

"Don't worry, Sir. I'm not gonna screw this up. I really like her." said Griffin.

Austin handed the small datapad back to Griffin and the demolition expert headed back to they Normandy.

* * *

As the group left the docking area they became mesmerized by the sight of Illium's various skyscrapers. This was interrupted when Austin heard an Asari calling his name.

"You're Major Shepard? I saw your.. I guess you would say your aura. Id recognise you anywhere." said they Asari.

She was dressed in a white dress with a red line down the front and red on the arms. She had purple skin, like Aria and Councillor Tevos and white tattoos.

"Do I know you?" Austin asked, slightly puzzled.

"You do not, but I know you form a... friend of yours. I was asked to give you a message if I saw you. It is from this friend. A friend that you made on Noveria." said the Asari.

"I met a lot of people on Noveria, Miss. Could you be more specific?" Austin asked.

"I believe the message itself should make it clear." they Asari replied.

She then walked up to Austin and her eyes turned white.

"Shepard. We hide. We burrow. We build. But we know that you seek those who soured the songs of our mothers. When the time comes, our voice will join yours, and our crescendo will burn the darkness clean. Thank you, great warrior. The Rachni will sing again, because of you." she said, her voice echoed as she spoke.

"I'm glad to hear that you're rebuilding, your majesty. Are you somewhere close by?" Austin asked.

Normally he would be concerned that they Rachni was controlling the Asari without her permission. But they way this message had been sent, it sounded as though that wasn't the case.

The Asari stepped back and her eyes returned to normal.

"The Rachni queen is not here. That message is one of many memories I carry from her. I encountered her on an uncharted world. She saved my life. More than that, she gave me a purpose. They are an amazing people, Shepard. They galaxy owes you a great debt for giving them a second chance." she said.

"How did you encounter the Rachni?" Austin asked.

"I was working as a courier. Pirates ambushed my ship, and I was forced down on an uncharted planet. I was badly injured, alone... and near death... then they found me. They saved me." the Asari replied.

"You obviously got off-world again. Did they Rachni give you a ship?" Austin asked.

"No, countless workers repaired my ship. It runs better now than it did before. They remind me of the keepers on the Citadel in a way. All working together, each with a purpose." said the Asari.

"What happened to the pirates who attacked you?" Austin asked.

"They were obliterated. As the should've been. The Rachni are not aggressive, but they do what they must." the Asari replied.

"Thank you for giving me that information. I'm glad that my friend is doing well." said Austin.

"Be well, Major Shepard. Perhaps one day we will see each other again." said the Asari as she left.

Austin and the others continued their walk through Nos Astra. Them, as they neared Xun's office, Austin saw a familiar face sat at a table.

"Well well well, look who it is!" said Austin warmly as he walked up to the woman.

"Holy crap, Shepard? I thought you were dead!" said Gianna Parasini. "What happened? No, wait, probably classified. Forget I asked. You'd just have to lie."

"Nice to see you too, Gianna Parasini. It's been a while." said Austin.

"Yeah. Two years in fact since you helped me nail Administrator Anoleis." said Gianna.

"Always happy to help. What to Anoleis anyway?" Austin asked.

"He made the one mistake Noveria won't tolerate: he got caught taking their money. He's doing a few years in white-collar prison. More importantly, he won't work in the field again. Sit down. If I remember right, I owe you a beer." said Gianna.

Austin sat down while Liara simply stood against a nearby doorway and Alaara and Sandra went to have a look at one of the circular holographic shopping kiosk.

"What brings you to Ilium? You know, that you can talk about?" Gianna asked.

"You ever heard of they Collectors? They're attacking human colonies. I'm going to stop then." Austin replied.

"Damn, Shepard. For me, a tough job involves more paperwork." said Gianna.

At that moment, she suddenly looked at and Asari that was stood near to one of the kiosks that Alaara and Sandra were looking at.

"Hey, listen, I just remembered something. I've got to go. Talk to you later? And don't forget to drink your beer." she said as she left the table.

As Austin reached for the drink, he noticed a small noted underneath the drink. He took the drink in one hand and they note in the other.

" _Shepard. Had to leave. Target saw me. Couldn't break cover. Asari merchant smuggling schematics form Noveria. Can you talk her into showing you good stuff?"_ said the message.

Austin tucked the message a way into one of the pouches on his belt and activated his comm link. He then explained the situation to Alaara and asked her to talk to the Asari. Alaara was very good at undercover work. Alaara simply turned to Austin and nodded in acknowledgement. Them, she went up to the Asari.

"Excuse me, sweetheart." Alaara greeted.

"Welcome! You look like someone who needs high-quality equipment! Feel free to look around. My store has the best tech and biotic equipment on Ilium." said the Asari at the kiosk.

"Do you have anything else? Anything not listed on your main merchandise kiosk?" Alaara asked. She flashed her well known persuasive look that somehow seemed to work all the time. They Asari Helldiver had become very well known for using it.

"Well, there is one thing. Very advanced design. Not publicly available yet." said the merchant.

Alaara gave a very suggestive smile before she noticed that Gianna had been listening in. She knew that they Asari was working for Austin because she was a Helldiver, so there wouldn't be any confusions.

"That's because it's still in development on noveria. And illegal for export. Hello, Hermia." she said.

"Parasini! You set me up! But this isn't Noveria! You don't have the authority to arrest me!" Hermia objected crossley.

"I don't care whether you go to jail. I've got all the evidence I need to fine you out of business." said Gianna.

"Word of advice, babe. Never try to operate above the law. It always manages to bite your pretty little ass eventually." said Alaara smugly.

"I... I need to go. I have to talk to my lawyer." said Hermia as she rushed off.

"Talk fast, Hermia! When they fines hit, you won't be able to afford him!" Gianna shouted after her. She then turned back to Alaara. "Ah, that was good. Thank you for your help. I've got to go file a few papers. Shepard, if you're listening through her, come by my table when you've got a minute."

Austin sat back down at the table as Gianna came back.

"Hermia is going to be a very poor woman very shortly. Thanks for the help, Shepard." she said. "I love nailing Asari. So ageless and superior - them you get then, and the squeal like schoolgirls."

"Careful what you say, Gianna. I have an Asari girlfriend." said Austin. "Still, it must be nice having a job that you really enjoy."

"I wanted to be a cop, or C-Sec, but my family had bills. I needed the money a corporate job brought in. Besides, in this job, you don't see things that make it hard to sleep at night. White collar crime is nice and clean. Hell, at least this time I didn't have to wear heels and a dress." said Gianna.

"It's been a pleasure, Gianna." said Austin as he got up from his seat.

"You too, Shepard." said Gianna as she too got up from her seat. She then walked right up to Austin. "Before I go, would you mind removing your helmet for a minute?"

"Oookay..." said Austin suspiciously as he retracted his helmet.

Gianna looked at his face for a few seconds before speaking again.

"Ah, hell with it."

To Austin's slight surprise, she then planted a kiss on his cheek and smiled at him.

"Much better than an autograph." she said. With that, she disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

With that dealt with, Austin, Liara, Alaara and Sandra headed for Xun's office. Sat outside the office at a desk was a purple Asari. At first, Austin thought it was Xun's Asari assistant, Oranna, but this one looked and sounded different.

"Hello Major Shepard. Xun will be pleased to see you." she said as she stood up and greeted then.

"What happened to Xun's usual assistant, Oranna? I don't remember seeing you here before." Austin asked.

"Oranna is currently away on a very important mission for Xun. My name is Nyxeris. Xun relies upon me to acquire useful intelligence. I don't have her network of contacts, but I supply her with supplemental data. It's really an honor to work with her." Nyxeris replied.

"What's Xun's reputation here on Illium?" Austin asked.

"She is greatly respected. In a few short years, she's amassed a sizeable network of connections. She could have even more political power than she already wields if she weren't so focused on her personal goals. But I believe she should tell you about that, not me." said Nyxeris.

"I'd like to see her now, please." said Austin.

"Of course, Major." said Nyxeris.

The Asari led the group through the door as it opened.

The whole room was finally dressed in several different Chinese decorations and furniture. There was a desk in front of the large window that overlooked the rest of Nos Astra. Behind that desk was a large podium, the top of which was surrounded by hundreds of holographic screens. Stood on top of the podium, was Xun.

As a reward for her various services, they Arkanes had given Xun a Helldiver suit of her very own. Like all other Helldivers, the helmet still had the familiar triangle shape, but they similarities ended there. Unlike the others, Xun's helmet was more smoother and more angular, which gave it a very elegant and smooth look.

The rest of Xun's suit was a fine coloured silver. Despite that Xun had seen many battles, she always kept her armour in near perfect condition. Xun's arms, chest and part of her helmet were decorated in several different chinese tattoos. Xun also had a very clear tattoo of a chinese dragon painted on her helmet.

Other additions included a katana strapped on the back of Xun's waist, lack of a plasma cannon, and few Samurai armour pieces accessorizing her armour. Another noticeable feature was that Xun's suit design did in a way resemble a business outfit, a small difference though was that the split dress at the back extended all the way down to her ankles rather than usual stopping at the end of the thighs, so it now looked more like a long cloak or a battle dress. The skirts were also made of a very light chainmail rather than the usual material for suits.

Xun currently appeared to be in call with someone. She had a datapad in her right hand and a large metal fan in the other. This was one of Xun's most treasured possessions. Surprisingly, the fan could also be used in combat for distraction purposes. However, they fan could also be used as a weapon. Although it didn't look it, that fan was just as sharp as Xun's katana and could slice through things with no trouble. It also somehow concealed Xun's ability to throw knives at her enemies when in combat.

"Look sir, I am not an unreasonable woman, but my services are not free. The information you want was not easy to acquire. Besides, we both agreed on the price. How dare you try to pay me at one tenth of it!" she said angrily.

There was a brief pause as Xun's client replied.

"Really? Well guess what, you don't have the information, I do!" she said.

There was another pause.

"This argument is getting us nowhere, and I have better things to do with my time. I'll make this simple, either you pay me or you won't see that information."

The communication ended and Xun turned to several of the other holo screens she was surrounded by.

"Excuse me, mistress." said Nyxeris.

"What is it, Nyxeris?! I told you I do not want to be disturbed!" said Xun. They Helldiver information broker didn't turn to look at Nyxeris and still continued with her work.

"You have visitors, mistress. I believe you were expecting them." said Nyxeris.

Xun slowly turned around and looked down at then. Her expression was unreadable through her helmet, but she looked pleased to see Austin and the others. They holo screen that she was surrounded by vanished and they podium slowly descended into the ground.

"Shepard! Nyxeris, hold my calls." she said. The information broker then walked up to Austin and embraced him warmly. Austin hugged her back.

Once they two had finished, Xun walked behind her desk. She put down the datapad she'd been holding earlier, but she still continued fanning herself with the metal fan. It was a very common habit of hers.

"My sources said you were alive, but I never believed... it's very good to see you." she smiled under her helmet.

"It's good to see you too, Xun. How're you doing?" Austin asked warmly.

"I'm doing well. As you've probably been told, i'm here on a trade mission to improve relations between us, Ilium and the Terminus systems." said Xun.

Austin sat down and Xun quickly did the same.

"And now you're back. Gunning for the Collectors." she said.

"That's not exactly public knowledge." said Austin.

"Neither is you being alive, old friend. Information is my business, remember? And if you need if you need help finding people, i'm more than happy to help." said Xun.

"What about you, Xun? We'd love your help on this mission." Austin offered.

"I wish I could, Shepard. But I can't I'm sorry. I have commitments here. Things I need to take care of." said Xun.

"What kind of things? You're not in trouble, are you?" Austin asked.

"No. Of course not. It's very complicated, and I understand the mission you are on. I don't want to waste your time." said Xun. She took a moment to consider something however. "Although, if you want to help. I need someone with hacking expertise, someone I can trust. If you could disable security at key points around Illium, could get me information I need. That would help me a great deal." said Xun.

"If it will help you, i'll take care of it." said Austin.

"When you hack one, a server will open somewhere nearby for a short time. You can download data from there. If you hurry. Thank you, Shepard. This may help me a great deal." said Xun gratifyingly.

"You're welcome. Now, you said that you could help me find people if need be?" Austin asked.

"Of course. Name the person, i'm happy to help out an old friend." said Xun.

"There's an Asari warrior named Samara here in Illium. Do you know where I can find her?" Austin asked.

"Samara... Yes. She arrived recently and registered with Tracking Officer Dara. You can find Dara at the transport hub." said Xun.

"Thank you, Xun. That's all I need to know for now." said Austin.

"Of course, if there's anything else I can help you with, let me know." said Xun.

"I'll talk to you later, Xun." said Austin.

* * *

Now that they knew who to look for, Austin and the group headed to the transport hub to look for the Tracking Officer Dara. As they neared were Xun had told her she would be though, Austin saw an Asari who looked very familiar. She was wearing a green lab coat and had a green skin pigment.

"Shepard! I... I don't suppose you'd remember me. I'm Shiala. We met on Feros during the Geth attack. Saren had given me to the Thorian creature as a slave, and you killed it... and saved me and the colony. I promised to help Zhu's Hope recover. I'm actually here on Ilium for just that purpose." said they Asari.

"Good to see you again, Shiala. How is Zhu's hope doing?" Austin asked.

"We've done a lot of rebuilding. We even salvaged some useful material form the Geth ship you destroyed. They ExoGeni researchers got called back to their headquarters, however... along with what was left of the Thorian." said Shiala.

"Is there something I can do to help?" Austin asked.

"I'd appreciate it. I've reached the limits of my diplomatic abilities, and i'd prefer not to start trouble. Some of the colonists had health problems as a result of the Thorian control. We hired a colonial survey group to do some medical scans. But the medical contract apparently allows the company to perform invasive procedures without our consent. That's why i'm here." said Shiala.

"If you don't mind me asking, Shiala, why are you green? You were only green when the Thorian made clones of you. The real you was purple." Austin asked.

"Those health problems I said were related to the Thorian control? This is mine. A few months after they Thorian died, my skin pigment changed. My biotic abilities are unstable as well. I'm also having vivid dreams... about my time with the Thorian. It is... disconcerting. Something else happened as well, but I really cannot talk about it. It is deeply private." Shiala explained.

"I understand. I'll talk to the survey group." said Austin.

"I appreciate it, Shepard. The Baria Frontiers representative known about the issue." said Shiala.

Austin and the others walked up to the Asari that Shiala had told them about, Erinya.

"I saw your conversation, human. You're here to complain about the medical contracts those colonists signed. I suggest you leave. Your life is short enough. Do not waste what time you have bothering me." she said.

"What's your problem with humans?" Austin asked crossley.

"Not just humans. It's all of you. They Salarians and Turians are no better. They galaxy would be a better place if nobody but they Asari had ever dragged themselves out of the primordial muck." said Erinya.

"Why are you so prejudiced against aliens? What have they ever done to you?!" said Austin.

"Where do I begin? With Salarian explorers unleashing the Rachni upon us, them unleashing the Krogan to correct their mistake? Or they Turians, so eager to bomb every problem away? Or humans, they new arrivals who already think they should be in charge?" said Erinya.

Austin's hand clenched into a fist at this.

"Every war that plagued this galaxy has been caused by your people. My people's deaths are on your hands." said Erinya.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Austin asked sternly.

"The mother of my daughters was killed on the Quarian homeworld during the initial Geth uprising. My daughters died on the Citadel when the Geth attacked. One worked in the Embassy. The other was a greeter for the Consort. I am not speaking in hypotheticals, human. The aliens will never be my allies. They best they can do is give me useful medical data." said Erinya.

"Your bondmate was with the quarians. Your daughter worked with aliens every day at the Embassy and the Consort." said Austin.

"And look what happened to them!" Erinya replied.

"You've suffered. I get that. But these colonists were trying to live peacefully! They've suffered, too! They lost family to the Geth and the Thorian creature. What makes you think you can add to their suffering?!" said Austin harshly. He didn't remember being this angry and a long time.

Erinya was deeply hurt by this and fell to her knees crying. Austin did not go to help her up. He simply waited until she calmed down and stood up.

"I'm... sending an amended contract. No more tests. No fees. There's enough grief in this galaxy. I don't need to add to it." she said.

"Bitch." said Alaara as Erinya left. Even she was appalled by this, regardless of whether Erinya had changed her mind.

With the job taken care of, they went back to Shiala.

"You did it! I just got the revised contracts. Thank you, Shepard. You've saved Zhu's Hope again. I don't think I could have... Is it always like this? Yesterday's problems lingering in some new from? Isn't anything ever just fixed?" asked Shiala.

"You've got the power to make a difference, Shiala. Not everyone does." said Austin.

"You're right. You gave us a chance by saving the colony. I can't let them down. I won't. Thank you for what you've done here, Shepard. I'll keep doing what I can." said Shiala.

"Good luck, Shiala." said Austin. He then ultimately decided that he should do it and he took a small datapad out of one of the small pouches on his combat belt and handed it to Shiala.

"What's this?" the Asari asked.

"A contact number for some top Arkane scientist." Austin replied. He then moved closer to Shiala and lowered his voice. "My suit shows me everything. I know about your... private problem." he said.

Shiala knew what he was talking about. At around the same time her skin pigment had changed, Shiala had also ended up growing a phallus form out of her Azure. It hadn't bothered her too much though since she and her lover Lizbeth Baynham had had a lot of fun with it.

"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. I won't tell anyone." Austin added.

"Thank you again, Shepard. It does embarrass me slightly, but with any luck, they medical scans will take care of that." said Shiala.

"If it doesn't, call them. They're bound to be able to help." said Austin.

"I hope we meet again, Shepard." Shiala smiled as she and Austin shook hands.

"Same here, Shiala. Take care of yourself." said Austin.

Officer Dara's office was right next to where Shiala had been, so the group moved on to her next.

"A Helldiver? What a surprise. We don't see your kind around here a lot. Can I help you with something?" she asked.

"I'm looking for an Asari warrior name Samara." Austin replied politely.

"Wait. Why? Do you have a problem, or... Did she kill somebody already?" Dara asked, horrified.

"Relax - I just need to speak with her. I'm outfitting a special team for a mission and she's on the list." said Austin reassuringly. Dara calmed down after that.

"Good. Samara's they first Justicar I've seen on Ilium. If i'm lucky, things will stay peaceful. She went to the commercial spaceport a few hours ago. If you want to get there, the pedestal on that balcony will summon a cab. Just be polite when you meet her. Justicars embody our highest laws, and the usually stay in Asari space. She's not used to dealing with aliens, especially Helldivers." said Dara.

"Thanks for thy help." said Austin.

"Good luck with the Justicar. Try not to piss her off." said Dara as she went back to her work and Austin and the others headed to the pedestal to get a cab. Their next stop, the commercial spaceport, and hopefully Samara...

* * *

Shadow stood looking out of the window. Just like her last encounter with Shepard, she felt disgraced and humiliated. Shepard had managed to win once again. This fight had really taken it's toll on her. They medics who had treated her had said that some of her wounds would never fully heal.

Unknown to the Phantom, a figure appeared behind her form out of the Shadows.

"Still in regret?" asked the Illusive man.

Shadow didn't say anything, nor did she stand to attention. She was far beyond caring whether this was her boss.

"I know things didn't go well, and that you don't feel like talking, but I have an offer for you." said the Illusive man.

Shadow slowly turned to face him.

"Go ahead them. I've got nothing else to do." she said.

"Recent studies of new technology we've uncovered from the dead Collectors you brought back from Horizon have unlocked new possibilities for out cybernetics division. If you'd be willing, there may be a chance we could give you the edge you need so that next time you encounter Shepard, the outcome will be in your favour." said they Illusive Man.

Shadow simply smiled. She was beyond caring now. If this meant she could have her revenge, she was game. Not matter they cost, they Helldiver would pay...

* * *

**And there you have it!**

**This will have to be my last chapter before my holiday. I seriously doubt I can get the next one finished in one day before Saturday. Hopefully though, when I get back in two weeks, I'll have plenty of new chapters for you all.**

**Until then, it's been real good fun. See you all in two weeks, and keep up those good reviews!**


	14. Chapter 14, The Justicar

**Hello, everyone! I'm back!**

**Just come back from a really great holiday. In addition to having a great time, I have used my two week absence well.**

**I've already finished 3 chapters and have half finished a 4th.**

**I'll upload the next one tomorrow so that I can give this one time to get read and commented on.**

**Happy reading! It's good to be back!**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**The Justicar**

As the cab slowly touched, the Helldiver stepped out. Surprisingly, the spaceport didn't look busy at all. In fact, there were several police officers around the area and one of the areas was sealed off.

Austin noticed a Volus being escorted by two Turian guards. However a purple Asari officer stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked sternly.

The Volus turned to face the Asari, who Austin's suit identified as Detective Anaya.

"I'm taking my goods to Omega, Detective." He said.

"You're not going anywhere, merchant! Not until I solve this murder." Said Anaya.

"I had nothing to do with that. It was those mercenary thugs you can't seem to get rid of." Said the Volus.

"The victim was your business partner, and I'm not ruling you out. I'll let you know when you can leave." Said Anaya.

"What about that Justicar that just showed up? Everyone says she might go crazy and start killing. I need to leave." Said the Volus nervously.

"She'll only kill the unjust, so I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, Pitne For." Said Anaya. "Find me in the station if you need me."

"Looks like she's the person to ask where Samara is." Said Alaara.

The group went into the station and found Anaya at her desk. She was very surprised to see four Helldivers here.

"First a Justicar, now Helldivers? Seems everyone's after the Eclipse." She said.

"Don't worry, detective. We're not here to cause you any more problems." Said Austin calmly.

"And yet you brought guns. Try not to use those in my district by the way. What can I do for you…?" she asked, asking for their name in the process.

"Major Shepard of Alpha Squad. I'm looking for an Asari Justicar named Samara. I'm told she's here right now." Said Austin as he sat down on the chair in front of Anaya's desk.

"If you've got a score to settle with Samara, take it somewhere else! I've got more than enough trouble here already." Said Anaya.

"We not here to cause trouble for you. We need to recruit Samara for our mission. As soon as we've done that we'll be on our way." Said Austin.

"Justicar's usually work alone. But they are drawn to impossible causes." Said Anaya.

"Convenient." Said Sandra.

"If you getting her out of my district, I'll get you to her ASAP. She's at the crime scene." Said Anaya.

"You're awfully anxious to get Samara out of your district." Austin inquired.

"My bosses want me to detain her. They're worried she'll cause some kind of cross-species incident. But her Justicar Code won't let her be taken into custody. If I try it, she'll have to kill me. I have no interest in dying, so if you lure her away with some big noble cause before I have to carry out my orders, I'm thrilled to help you." Anaya explained.

"You superiors are sending you to certain death for no good reason. You have a right to disobey." Said Austin.

"We can disobey suicidal orders? Why wasn't I told?" Alaara joked.

"Most of the time, I'm not being stupid about it. I can't say the same for Anaya's superiors." Said Austin.

"I'm a cop, and I know my duty. I've been ordered to detain her and I will – unless I can get her to leave my district first." Said Anaya.

"Then how do we get to the crime scene?" Austin asked.

"It's around the corner – go outside, take a left. Look for the police line. I'll send word to let you in. Be careful – the Eclipse mercs have been all over those back alleys lately." Anaya pointed out.

"We'd better get moving then." Said Austin as he stood up from the chair.

"Good luck." Said Anaya.

"We'd better find Samara before the detective goes after her." Said Sandra.

With no time to lose, the Helldivers immediately left the station and headed for the crime scene. The two Asari guards took notice of them.

"Anaya told us to let you through. Watch yourselves. There's merc activity back there, we're waiting on backup." Said the Guard.

Austin nodded in acknowledgement to them and the group went in. Once they'd cleared the police line, they drew their weapons.

"Keep an eye out. Eclipse are very good at hiding." Said Alaara.

All the area was really just a load of massive corridors with loads of cargo crates in them. True to what Alaara had said though, it was the perfect place for an ambush. As a result of this, everyone remained on their guard.

As they rounded a corner, they could overhear several Eclipse mercs. All of the Helldivers immediately cloaked and looked around the corner. There where three mercs and three assault mechs. Nothing they couldn't handle.

"Get the rest of bravo squad prepped. Beta squad went after that Justicar twenty minutes ago, and they've gone dark." Said the leader.

"Mark 'em and drop 'em." Said Austin quietly.

Just like the move that Alpha Squad had done on Horizon with the Collectors, the Helldivers each took a target and lined up the shot. Austin in particular was making sure his was lined up just right. If he got it perfect, he'd be able to take out two targets in one shot.

Everyone took a deep breath and waited for the Major to give them the signal.

"Fire!" he whispered.

Almost instantly, all the Asari fell and one of the mechs also lost a head as the group fired at exactly the same time. The mechs reacted to the threat, but several plasma shots made quick work of them.

The door that the Eclipse squad had been stood in front of looked like the last one to go through before they reached Samara. They could also hear fighting coming from the other side.

The door opened and almost immediately, an unfortunate Eclipse Asari was suddenly smashed against the doorway. On one of the upper levels was the leader of this squad. She had her gun pointed at an unseen target.

"Those where my best troops." She said as she seemed to shiver nervously. Then her target came into view.

Stood in front of the Eclipse Asari was another Asari. This one however was vastly different.

The Justicar, Samara, had a somewhat very wise look about her. No one needed to guess that she was definitely around 700. She was dressed from head to toe in a red sort of armour with a few black bits on her legs and places where she didn't need armour. Her forehead also had some kind of crown decoration on it. Due to her age, Samara's skin pigment seemed slightly paler than normal Asari. She was definitely a very light blue compared to Alaara and Liara. To be absolutely honest though, that was not the most noticeable part about Samara. The part of the armour on her chest was cut away in a v shaper. Not only did it show a lot of skin, but it also showed a lot of cleavage. Even without the exposure, Austin guessed that Samara's cup size had to be at least twice the size of Liara's. Perhaps they where even larger than that. Austin quickly had to remind himself to stay focused as he shifted his gaze back to the Justicar's face rather than staring at her rack or her arousingly large behind, which the suit did a poor job of trying to size down.

"Tell me what I need to know and I will be gone from here. Where did you send her?" she said as she paced back and forth slowly in front of the Eclipse merc. As expected, Samara's voice had a very gentle and wise tone. At the same time though, it was also forceful and demanding. Samara might look all elegant and gorgeous and might give young males the wrong impression, with her sexy attire. But as Austin knew, a book should never be judged by it's cover.

Austin still felt as though the outfit was a bit much. Did Samara even know she was showing that much cleavage?

" _What is it with Asari and their cleavage display?"_ he asked in his head. _"Not that I'm complaining about it."_ He quickly added.

But Austin banished these thoughts as he quickly snapped himself back to reality and focused on Samara pacing back and forth in front of the merc. She was still glowing with biotics and looked ready for another fight. She had after all just dispatched this merc's squad.

"You think I'd betray her? She would hurt me in ways you can't imagine." Said the merc.

Still Samara continued pacing. Her composure remained unchanged, calm and peaceful. At the same time though, she would not leave until she got an answer. She was one of those strong and silent types. Austin sometimes liked people like that.

"The name of the ship! Your life hangs on the answer, Lieutenant." Said Samara sternly. Despite the calmness in the Justicar's voice, it now seemed that her patience wouldn't last long. Her biotics glowed just a little bit brighter.

"You can kill me, but one of us will take you down, Justicar!" said the merc as she pointed her gun at Samara.

Samara however instantly reacted and threw up her hand. The merc was enveloped by biotics and Samara instantly threw her right out of the window and onto ground level. As the merc struggled to get back up, Samara then jumped down. As she did, she used her biotics to slow her decent and then landed gracefully on the ground. The merc could only watch now as the Justicar slowly walked up to her.

"What was the name of the ship she left on?" Samara repeated as she placed her high heeled foot on the mercs neck.

"Go to hell!" the merc spluttered.

Samara's composure didn't change, but it was obvious now, that she would not be getting anything out of this merc, no matter what she tried. There was only one thing she could do now.

"Find peace in the embrace of the goddess." She said as she twisted her foot violently and the mercs neck snapped.

Having seen the entire thing, Austin and his teammates ventured a bit closer. Samara took notice of them as they came into her sight. She was rather surprised to see four Helldivers, especially two of her own species. It was easy to tell from Alaara's paint job which was designed to look like her skin and Liara's biotic armour appearance.

"My name is Samara, a servant of the Justicar code. My quarrel is with these Eclipse sisters, but I see 4 well armed Helldivers before me. Are we friend or foe?" she asked.

"That merc was wounded and helpless! Do you just kill anyone who won't help you?" Austin asked, a bit surprised that Samara had killed that Eclipse merc so casually.

"If my cause is important enough, yes. Are you different?" Samara asked back.

"I've killed enemies, but always with good reason." Austin replied.

"I answer to a code that is clearly defined. If my actions are true to that code, I am just. If they are not, I am unjust. I don't pretend that it is a simple matter or that it seems right to everyone. But I sleep well at night, and that is more than most can say. How may I be of service to you?" said Samara.

"I'm going up against suicidal odds and I need the best. That's you." Said Austin.

"I sense the truth in what you say and it humbles me. But I seek an incredibly dangerous fugitive. I cornered her here, but the Eclipse sisters smuggle her off-world. I must find the name of the ship she left on before the trail goes cold." Samara explained.

"I wish you were willing to go with the Helldiver, Justicar. I've been ordered to take you into custody if you won't leave." Said a voice. It was Anaya.

"You risk a great deal by following your orders detective. Fortunately, I will not have to resist. My code obligates me to cooperate with you for one day. After that, I must return to my investigation." Said Samara.

"I won't be able to release you that soon." Said Anaya worriedly.

"You won't be able to stop me." Said Samara.

"There must be some way we can all get what we need." Said Austin, trying to diffuse the situation.

"I see a way. While I am in custody, you find the name of that ship. Do that and I will join you, then the code will be satisfied." Said Samara.

"Do you have any leads?" Austin asked.

"The Volus merchant, Pitne For, is tied to this. Eclipse mercs are preparing to kill him. Get the truth out of him. He may know a way into the Eclipse base." Said Samara.

"Their base? I don't know about this." Said Alaara hesitantly.

"It's not like they'll recognize, darling. You haven't been with them for nearly a hundred years now. Besides, it's no secret that you where an Eclipse merc. No need to still be ashamed of it." Said Sandra reassuringly as she patted her wife on the back.

"Still… I worry if some familiar faces are still here." Said Alaara. "If they still have their old leaders, it won't be easy for us. They're crazy and their violence knows no limits."

"Your friends have your back, Alaara. We'll do alright. Besides, we only need a ship name. If we're lucky, we can probably avoid a bloodbath." Said Austin.

* * *

Everyone returned to the spaceport with Samara accompanying Anaya back to the station. Austin quickly spotted Pitne For and the group walked up to him.

"Hello Arkane Clan. What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Why are the mercs after you?" Austin asked, deciding to go straight to the point.

"I know nothing about any mercenaries, Arkane Clan. I'm merely an innocent merchant-"

But Pitne was quickly interrupted when Austin's plasma cannon activated and it's targeting laser pointed right at him.

"Oh dear! Please put that away! I'll be cooperative, I swear!" he said quickly.

"Tell me everything." Said Austin sternly as his plasma cannon stood down.

"I smuggled a chemical onto Illium that boosts biotic powers in combat." Pitne explained.

"Red Sand?" Alaara asked.

"How did you know that?" Pitne asked, surprised.

"We've had a lot of run ins with red sand dealers. We used to use the compound ourselves even." Alaara replied.

"Then you probably also know that it is toxic. I may have, um, forgotten, to mention that to the Eclipse. So they are perturbed and want to kill me." Said Pitne.

"We need to get into the merc base. You're gonna help us." Said Austin sternly.

"I do have a pass card they issued me to bring my goods in. Well, I had to return that one, but I happened to make a copy." Said Pitne.

The Volus noticed Austin cracking his knuckles and didn't need to be told twice.

"Take it. Be careful – each Eclipse sister commits -" he said, but Alaara interrupted him.

"Murder to earn her uniform. We know." Said the Asari.

* * *

Oddly enough, the entrance to the Eclipse base was dangerously close to Anya's station. If the Eclipse ever planned on assassinations, no one would ever see them coming. Austin had planned for the group to sneak in, remain cloaked while in the base, find the ship name and get out of there. That plan however sort of backfired when a mech instantly greeted them as the elevator doors opened. Recognizing immediately that the three Helldivers in front of it weren't Eclipse, the mech sounded an alert just as Austin sliced it's head off with his omni blade.

A small band of Eclipse sisters that had been in room just outside immediately reacted and started firing on the intruders. As they did however though, Austin couldn't help but notice that one of them was retreating and running away from them. Right now though, that was the least of Austin's concerns. He was more concerned about the Eclipse mercs that where actually fighting them.

To complicate matters further, the entire room was full of several fragile containers that Austin, Alaara & Sandra all knew contained the Red Sand compound. True this compound boots biotic powers greatly, but it's toxicity had provided an awful lot of problems for the Helldivers that used them. Some had suffered permanent skin damage, others had become addicted to the Red Sand since it was rather addictive to biotics, and not just on a power level. The compound also did nasty things to the brain from prolonged exposure.

The Eclipse mercs where even worse as they smashed several of the containers near them and used the Red Sand to boost their biotics. Fortunately, Alaara and Liara had canisters of Blue Sand which was just as powerful as Red Sand but was not toxic or addictive. Rather embarrassingly, Alaara it seemed had also found ways of increasing biotic sex.

Austin fired several shots at more of the Red Sand canisters in hope that the concentrated exposure would kill the mercs. To his relief, it worked for most of them, but the others weren't as exposed as the ones Austin had just killed so he had to leave those to the two Asari. Alaara in particular was making clever work of the Blue Sand and used it to fling one of the mercs over the edge. Liara was resorting more to defence and was providing Austin with a bit more cover from one of the Eclipse rocket troopers.

Finally, Austin managed to get close enough so that the rocket trooper forgot about Liara and concentrated on him. Liara used this to her advantage and threw a massive warp at the trooper which caused the merc to fly into a explosive canister which exploded upon impact.

With the room clear, Austin and the others went back to their original plan of sneaking through the base. Just as Austin cloaked though, he could hear a whisper coming from the door leading to another room.

"Oh, Goddess! Oh, Goddess, don't let them see me. If they do see me, don't let them kill me. What am I doing here?" said the whisper.

"Hold up! Let's check it out." Austin whispered.

The door opened and the group went in with their guns ready. At first, it didn't look as though anyone was in here, but their suit computers quickly highlighted the increase in heartbeat and breathing.

"Come out! We know you're there!" said Austin forcefully.

Reluctantly, a very young Eclipse Asari came out from behind a computer terminal. She reached for her SMG as she did so. Austin and the others pointed their own plasma cannons at her.

"Wait! Stop! I didn't fire my weapon once. I pretended to because the other Eclipse sisters where watching, but I didn't really shoot!" she said hastily as she stood up and came out of her hiding spot.

"Your wearing an Eclipse uniform! You expect us to believe you?!" said Alaara harshly.

"I'm not one of them! I'm new! I thought being Elnora the mercenary would be cool… but I didn't know what they were really like!" said the Asari as she hastily reached for her SMG.

For a moment, she pointed it at them. Austin and the others didn't do anything, but they didn't stand down either.

Then Alaara used her scans to analyse Elnora better. She was lying. The suit was showing the usual traits that a body showed when a person was lying.

"You're lying! You think Helldivers are blind?! Besides, chances are you killed someone for that uniform!" she said.

That was enough to convince Austin.

"You chose your side, Elnora: And you lost." Said Austin as his plasma cannon activated and pointed at Elnora.

"Screw that, bastard! And screw you!" said Elnora.

She fired one shot but that didn't do any damage at all. All the group immediately returned fire tenfold and Elnora was dissolved into nothing, screaming as the plasma burned away her uniform, and then her skin.

* * *

Getting through the rest of the Eclipse base proved to be much less violent. Helldivers where trained to operate stealth missions, and this was a perfect example. As the group cleared a massive loading area that had a gunship docked there, they took a moment to relax. It was tense sneaking through the rooms without the mercs potting them so all their hearts had pounding rather hard in their chests, nervous of what would happen if one of them was spotted.

As they took a moment to get their breath back, Austin noticed an audio log that looked recent. He decided to have a look and activated it.

" _Well, it's official. Little baby Elnora is now finally a fully fledged Eclipse merc. I earned my uniform last night when I killed that ridiculous Volus. A close exploding rounds. Blew the little bastards suit wide open! I can't wait to see some real action. Next time I go home, my friends are gonna be so jealous!"_ it said in Elnora's voice.

"I knew it! Good thing we took her out!" said Sandra.

"Detective Anaya would be interested in this." Said Liara.

"Definitely." Austin agreed.

* * *

After sneaking through yet more rooms filled with Eclipse sisters, the group finally came to another empty room and took the moment to relax. Alaara even gave Sandra a playful spank, but Austin told them to behave themselves.

Liara then noticed a datapad on a nearby table. As she read it, her eyes went wide.

"Austin, you may want to take a look at this." She said as she threw the datapad to Austin and he caught it.

"This looks like a shipping manifest. It shows that Pitne For sold 2000 units of Minagen X3 to the Eclipse. Along with 600 units of red sand." Said Austin as he examined the datapad.

"This isn't the information Samara needs, but it proves that the Volus is a criminal." Said Liara. "Detective Anaya would be interested in this."

"Maybe, but we've got to keep moving." Said Austin.

The next room was just a hallway, but it wasn't empty. Inside the hallway was a Volus stood in front of a café machine. He turned around, almost drunk like and bumped into Austin causing him to stagger back a bit. The Volus however regained his composure, but it looked as though he wasn't in his right set of mind.

"I am a biotic god! I think things – and they happen! Fear me, lesser creatures, for I am biotics made flesh!" he said as he glowed brightly with quite a few unstable biotics.

"I don't know what drugs you're on, but stay back and I won't shoot you." Said Austin.

"You will regret your scandalous words! I am a great wind that will sweep all before me like a… a great wind. A great biotic wind! Yes, the Asari injecting so many drugs into me was terrifying. But then I began to smell my greatness!" said the Volus.

"Probably not all he smelt." Sandra joked, making sure her helmet was sealed properly in the process.

"You may laugh when I fall over, but they don't know what I know in my head – that I know that I am amazingly powerful. Fear me!" the Volus continued.

"Are you part of Pitne For's trade group?" Austin asked as his suit's computer identified him as Niftu Cal.

"When I was mortal, I worked for Pitne. Poor soul is probably terrified that I have not returned." Niftu replied.

"He hasn't reported your disappearance. Probably so his departure won't get delayed." Said Liara.

"When the chips are down, even your friends will screw you for and extra cred." Said Alaara.

"Bah! I will wreak a just revenge upon his people! But first… the leader of these mercenaries is in the next room. I shall toss Wasea about like a rag doll!" said Niftu confidently.

"Wasea?!" said Alaara in shock.

"Does that name mean anything to you, Alaara?" Austin asked, concerned at Alaara's look of almost shear fright.

"She's one of the most feared, Asari in the Eclipse. She's addicted to red sand and it makes her crazy. Abusive also. Cruelty I had to witness first hand. She was… my mentor." Said Alaara, once again sounding ashamed of her Eclipse training.

"Why didn't you say anything, love?" Alaara asked comfortingly, surprised that her wife hadn't mentioned how she had cruelly abused during her training as an Eclipse.

"Wasea always gives me nightmares of her cruelty. Plus, I had no idea she was still here." Said Alaara. "She's as bad as the Eclipse can make Asari."

"It matters not. She will fall before my might!" said Niftu.

"Shepard, he couldn't tie his bootlaces, much less fight." Said Sandra.

"I will tear her apart! My biotics are unstoppable!" Niftu repeated.

"Wasea will tear you apart. Take a nap – you'll feel better." Said Austin.

"Are you mad? I'm unstoppable! Feasting on her biotic-rich blood will be the last step of my ascension to godhood!" said Niftu, and before Austin could do anything to stop him, he ran for the door.

"He's a goner." Said Alaara.

"We should at least try to help him." Said Austin.

The group quickly chased the Volus through the door.

The large room was full of hundreds of Red Sand canisters. There was a desk at the far end of the room. Stood behind that desk was an Asari. She was wearing a Partisan armour and had large red facial tattoos. Just the sight of her chilled Austin. He could only dread to imagine what this Asari was capable of, let alone what she had done to Alaara.

Niftu got Wasea's attention threw a biotic warp at her. The warp however was so small that it merely just gave the Asari's head a small push. This however seemed to make Wasea very angry and she flung an absolutely massive warp at the Volus. Rather surprisingly though, Niftu put up a biotic shield which blocked Wasea's attack. As the Asari readied for another attack, Niftu spoke.

"Enough! You are beneath me! I am a biotic god, Wasea! And I will not be bullied by-"

But Niftu was interrupted as he was completely enveloped by Wasea's biotics, flung up into the air and smashed into the ground. Wasea then lifted him up again temporarily and smashed him twice into the ground again before finally letting him go. Niftu dropped at Sandra's feet, who dragged him to safety.

"Puny god!" Wasea muttered as she went back to her work.

Wasea meanwhile had noticed the Helldivers who had followed after the Volus whom she had just beaten into submission. From the looks of things though, Niftu was okay. Volus suits where very tough little things.

Wasea still didn't seem worried at all by the presence of the Helldivers as she casually held a datapad in her left hand and sipped a drink in the other. She spoke again as she downed the drink.

"Everything's gone to hell since we smuggled that filthy creature off-world. First a Justicar shows up, now you." She said. Her voice was very cold.

Wasea then glowed brightly again with biotics and picked up one of the nearby red sand canisters with her biotics.

"At least I can take pleasure in turning you head into a pulpy mass!" she shouted as she threw the canister at them.

Austin and Liara jumped out of the way, but Alaara stood her ground. Surprisingly she even smashed the canister with her arm just before it hit her.

"Over my dead body… mentor." She said coldly.

Wasea's expression turned to surprise as she recognised Alaara's voice.

"Well well well, look who finally decided to come crawling back to me. Why are you here traitor?" she replied.

"I'm gonna do what I should've done long ago, you bitch!" Alaara shouted back.

Sandra was quick to join in as well and a massive battle broke out with the Eclipse mercs fighting Austin and Liara and Wasea fighting Alaara and Sandra.

Sandra didn't have biotics since she was mostly a comm specialist, but her skills with a gun did at least give Wasea something else to worry about. Despite the Blue Sand though, Alaara was struggling. Wasea had taught her nearly everything she knew and she knew a lot of Alaara's moves and tricks. Some of Alaara's new Helldiver abilities where working to her advantage and Wasea was starting to get a little angry at Alaara not faltering.

Eventually, Wasea began to feel her biotics weakening and she started smashing more and more Red Sand canisters on the floor hear her feet so that she could boost her powers back up. Alaara could tell however that Wasea was starting to feel the pain. The concentrated exposure to so much of the compound was slowly starting to damage her skin tissue.

Austin and Liara meanwhile were using both their strengths to kill the other Eclipse mercs who where trying to help their captain. Austin used all his soldier and Helldiver training to shot the mercs, while Liara used her immensely powerful biotics to cut off the more out of range mercs.

Alaara meanwhile had thought up an idea. As she held back a constant warp attack from Wasea, who was doing her best to hide the fact that she was in a lot of pain now. Alaara charged up her strongest biotic throw and hurled the canister at Wasea. The Captain noticed the canister only just too late and it hit her right in the forehead, knocking her out cold.

The Helldivers waited for all the Red Sand to clear and dissipate before continuing. Wasea was out cold but still alive. Austin had thought she would just be executed there, but Alaara and Sandra had said that they had plans for the Asari bitch.

Austin walked up to Wasea's desk and picked up the datapad she'd be holding earlier.

" _There's a Justicar here! Probably looking for the one we sent off on the AML Demeter. I was happy to see her go; she chilled me to the bone. I just hope this Justicar doesn't mess up my operation."_ it read.

"That must be the ship Samara was looking for." Said Sandra.

"Should we head back to the police station and give her the name?" Liara asked.

"Let's give her the name and keep moving." Said Austin. "Bring the Volus with us. He should come around soon."

* * *

It felt nice to be back at the spaceport. Just as they neared Anaya's office, Niftu Cal regained consciousness. As Sandra put him down, he didn't stagger at all. It looked like the drugs had worn off now.

"I don't know what they put in me, but I thought I was… well, you saw. Anyway, thank you Shepard." He said thankfully.

Austin simply nodded to Niftu and allowed the Volus to be on his way.

Samara was sat near Anya's desk and was meditating. Anaya had a look of pleasure and relief on her face when she saw Austin and Liara return. Alaara and Sandra had gone back to the Normandy early with Wasea in tow.

Samara opened her eyes as she sensed Austin's presence.

"I've got the name of the ship. Your fugitive left here two days ago on the AML Demeter." Said Austin.

"Shepard, you impress me. You fulfilled your part of the bargain, and I will fulfil mine." Samara smiled. The Justicar smiled and hopped down from where she'd been meditating. She then turned to face Anaya. "I am ready to leave immediately, if that will satisfy your superiors, Detective?"

"You're free to go, Justicar. It has been an honor having you in my station. And it's nice you didn't kill me too." Anaya smiled.

"The Normandy is docked near the main trading floor. We'll meet you aboard." Said Austin.

"I must be sworn to your service, so that I am never forced to choose between your orders and the Code." Said Samara. The Justicar then suddenly glowed with biotics and knelt down. Austin resisted the tempting urge to look down Samara's cleavage as she did so.

"By the code, I will serve you, Shepard. Your choice are my choices, your morals are my morals. Your wishes are my code." Said Samara. Her biotics then pulsed and her eyes glowed brightly as she stood back up.

"I never thought I'd see a Justicar swear an oath like that." Said Anaya, amazed.

"If you make em do anything dishonourable, I may need to kill you when I am released from my oath." Samara advised.

"I can see that this is a very important act, Samara. Thank you." Said Austin kindly as he bowed his head. He knew a thing or two about Justicars and knew to be very respectful in their presence.

"Truly, the life of a Justicar can get lonely. I admit, I am looking forward to serving with the company of honourable heroes. Shall we return to your ship?" Samara smiled.

"Not yet. I need to speak to Anaya quickly." Said Austin.

Anya nodded and sat back down at her desk.

"Thanks for getting Samara out of my district. I can tell my granddaughters about meeting a Justicar. And you've just upped my chances of living long enough to have grandkids." She said gratefully.

"We found out who killed the Volus merchant." Said Austin as he handed a datapad that contained Elnora's recording to Anaya.

"Let's see what you've got there." Said the detective.

There was a long pause as she read the datapad's content.

"Interesting, but I can't verify it. It would be inadmissible." She said.

"I vouch for Shepard and any evidence he brings forward." Said Samara.

"I accept the judgement of the Justicar. Thanks, Shepard. I wasn't sure about trusting a Helldiver - and a human, at that. But you came through. Never heard of this Elnora. Sounds like she was just starting her career. Good thing you cut it short." Anaya smiled.

Austin nodded in acknowledgement of Anaya's thanks.

"Okay, enough with all the congratulations, I've still got a spiralling crime rate." Said Anaya.

"You may also want to look at this. It proves that Pitne For smuggled in red and illegal weapons tech." said Austin as he handed Anya the shipping manifest thy had found earlier.

"I'll send in some officers to arrest him and his cohorts. This is a bog help, Shepard. I can't do much to thank you, but we do have a small discretionary bounty fund. Take this." Said Anaya as she handed Austin a sum of credits that the Helldiver placed in one of the pouches on his belt.

* * *

Austin, Alaara and Liara had assembled in the comm room to give Samara a proper greeting and welcome on the Normandy. It really was an honour to work with a Justicar. Especially one like Samara. There was something about her that made her very likeable.

"Welcome to the Normandy, Justicar. It's a real honor to have you on this team. With your skills, we think you'll be an excellent addition." Said Alaara as she shook Samara's hand in greeting and bowed her head.

"Thank you. I too am honoured to be a part of your mission. I have hard many impressive stories about the Helldivers. I am deeply honoured and excited to be working along such fine warriors." Said Samara warmly.

"The honour is all mine, Samara. I've seen your biotic powers at work. They're almost unmatched." Said Austin.

"We still don't know what we'll find when we assault the Collector home world." Said Liara.

"I will be prepared for whatever we encounter." Said Samara calmly.

"So, where shall we put you?" Austin asked.

"A room that looks out on the great empty void of space would be most comforting." Samara replied.

"Well, the observation room on deck three is currently vacant. Would that be appropriate?" Alaara suggested.

"Yes, that will be fine. Thank you. I must meditate on the day's events." Said Samara.

Samara left and Alaara and Liara went back to their posts. Austin decided to let Samara settle in before he talked with her. It then occurred to him that he hadn't talked with Kelly lately and decided to rectify that.

He found her at her usual spot right beside the galaxy map.

"There is nothing more absolute than the oath of an Asari Justicar. You did well getting Samara on our side. She is so elegant and gorgeous. Too bad her manner is just so… cold." She said.

"Maybe, but I didn't recruit her for her looks. The Normandy already has plenty of beautiful women. You in particular, Kelly." Said Austin, trying not to sound like he was flirting with her.

"Oh, Shepard. I wish there were time to get to know you better." Kelly laughed.

"Well, now that you mention it. Why don't you join me in my cabin for a meal? It would give us the chance to talk." Austin suggested.

"That sounds wonderful. I've been hoping for some private time with you. Lead the way." Said Kelly.

Austin led Kelly into the elevator and he pressed the button for his cabin. He admitted he was looking forward to this. It would be nice for him and Kelly to get to know one another better.

* * *

**There we are!**

**Sorry for the Avengers reference. I couldn't help it, that scene just worked well with this.**

**Next one will be uploaded tomorrow.**

**Fair warning in advance, Chapter 15 will contain a lot of sex. I was in a very crazy mood when I wrote that one and I went a bit mad with it. Anyway, i hope you enjoyed this one, see you tomorrow.**


	15. Chapter 15, Kelly's Real Evening

**Right, should warn you all that I'd had a very mad day when I wrote this chapter and I was in a very crazy mood. So I went rather mad with this one. As a result it's currently the longest and most erotic sex scene i've currently written.**

**Do enjoy reading, and please don't be too harsh on me if I went too far.**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**Kelly's Real Evening**

Austin stepped out of the elevator to find Kelly once again at her usual post. Last night's meal with her had been a really great evening. He and Kelly had really got to know when another very well. Mostly they had chatted about each others life and how they had come to be the people they where today. Kelly in particular had been really interested in Austin's history. Kelly had also shed light on a lot of interesting details on her past. Surprisingly, her father had been an Arkane but her mother been human. This hence explained some of her characteristics. She had been born and raised on Arkadia ever since and had been a psychologist for the Helldivers. That was what had lead her to being assigned to the Normandy.

As Austin approached Kelly, he noticed that she looked a bit tired.

"Morning, Kelly. You alright?" he asked.

"Goodness. I haven't stayed up that late since my college days." She yawned. As she turned to face him. " I had a wonderful evening. Thank you, Shepard."

With that, Kelly went back to work. Then Austin remembered something. While he'd been on Ilium, Liara had very kindly reserved a bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy for Austin to buy since she too knew about the promise Austin had made to doctor Chakwas. Austin hadn't planned on going to recruit Thane Krios, so he figured it would fine to just pop out, get the bottle, and deliver it to Karin.

* * *

As Austin disembarked, he jogged through the docks. Surprisingly, he spotted Alaara and Sandra chatting with Careena.

"Hello, Major." Sandra greeted.

"We where just…" said Alaara, but Austin decided not to inquire as to what was going on. He had seen this before a lot of times and knew what usually happened when it came to Alaara and Sandra.

"Don't! Don't mind me, I'm just passing through. It's better I don't know." Said Austin.

Both Alaara and Sandra smiled to one another and winked at their Major. Austin simply nodded and disappeared into the crowd.

Alaara and Sandra meanwhile went back to talking to Careena.

"So anyway, my wife and I where hoping you might give us a more… personal tour." Said Alaara in her sexy seductive voice.

Careena couldn't help but blush. Ever since she had laid eyes on the Helldiver couple, she had found them very attractive. And now here they where, trying to seduce her. It was incredibly hard for her to say no.

"I think I can see where this is going, Miss T'onrak. And my answer is… yes." Careena smiled. She didn't really care now whether this was against her contract. She hadn't had a very adventurous sex life, so by the goddess she was going to take this opportunity.

"Follow us then, cutie." Said Alaara as she lead Careena and Sandra to a very private area of Nos Astra. Sandra inputted a code and the door opened.

Careena couldn't see anything for a moment as Alaara shut the door behind them. Then the lights came on and Careena was left quite shocked.

There, in front of the Asari, bound naked and with a ball gag in her mouth was Captain Wasea. When she saw Alaara and Sandra, she attempted to struggle violently to remove her bonds. She tried using her biotics, but nothing happened.

"What is going on?! Who is this?!" said Careena nervously.

"Hold on! Hold on, Careena! We can explain. She's a dangerous criminal. Captain of the Eclipse sisters here on Illium in fact. She's been a very naughty girl you see, and she needs to be punished." Said Alaara.

"Ooohhh! Bondage sex. My favourite." Careena smiled.

"Why don't you get familiar with my bond mate then. I'll go and check that Wasea is… freshened up." Alaara smiled.

Sandra gave Careena a very sexy smile. Careena smiled back and the two walked up to one another. They started kissing as they both helped each other strip out of each others outfits. Alaara meanwhile, walked up to the bound Wasea and she removed the ball gag.

"You fucking bitch! Do you know what I'll do to you when I get out of here?!" Wasea yelled desperately trying to tear her bonds apart.

Alaara however was not frightened and she slapped Wasea rather hard on the cheek.

"You're gonna watch your mouth slave! You're gonna be our bitch tonight!" she said.

Wasea went to shout some more, but Alaara fixed the ball gag back into place and the Eclipse Asari's shouts and curses turned to nothing but muffles.

Alaara then activated her biotics and her outfit stripped off of her on it's own.

"As you can see, I've got a much sexier body now. And this time, it'll be me raping you instead of you raping me!" said Alaara as she ran her hands seductively down her body, the nipples on her very large breasts already erect with excitement.

Sandra and Careena meanwhile had finished stripping each other and now stood completely naked.

"Three Asari all to myself? I am the luckiest girl alive!" Sandra smiled as she gazed at Careena and her wife's nude forms. Careena it seemed had gold tattoos in places other than her head. She had them on her chest, on her breasts, on her stomach and down her legs. They also reached down her back and just stopped at her ass.

"Nice tattoos, Careena." Alaara smiled.

"Thank you. I've been slightly afraid that they're over done. It's nice to see that you approve." Careena smiled bashfully.

"How come you don't have that many, darling?" Sandra asked seductively.

"You know me. I don't like to cover up my body." Said Alaara.

"So, who's gonna go first?" Careena asked.

"I will. Your Azure looks very inviting. Besides. I haven't tasted one of my own for a very long time." Alaara replied as she walked up to Careena and started fondling her as the two kissed.

"Oh this is heaven! I'm gonna record this! Just let me get my camera." Said Sandra as she got a video camera set up. It was a rather old one but it produced the best video quality. Once she'd finished, she went to join in this massive orgy with her wife, the Asari concierge, and the former Captain of the Eclipse.

* * *

Having now bought a bottle of Serrice Ice Bandy, Austin headed into the med bay. As usual, Chakwas was sat in her chair. She turned around as she heard the door open and smiled at the sight of her old friend.

"How may I help you, Major?" she asked.

"I have a present for you, Karin." Austin replied as he presented the bottle.

"Serrice Ice Brandy? You didn't, Thank you. I always regretted not opening that original bottle – when I still could. I won't make the same mistake again. Why don't we open this bottle right here, right now, you and me?" Chakwas suggested.

Austin didn't even think for a minute of saying no to one of his oldest friends.

"Sure! You crack open the bottle. I'll get the glasses." He said.

Chakwas smiled warmly.

"I thought Alenko's biotic display might have broken Jenkins' back, but Jenkins pops up and yells "That was awesome!" said Chakwas as she finished telling a story from before Austin had been assigned to the Normandy and Kaiden Alenko and Richard L. Jenkins had still been alive.

Chakwas then sat back down. Austin did get the feeling that she probably might have had a bit too much to drink. Still it was nice to see her like this. Seeing Karin happy gave Austin a very warm feeling.

"Ah, Jenkins. Soldiers like him make the Alliance great. Just a shame that some others lack the same… enthusiasm." Said Chakwas.

"With your service record, you could have got the tour of duty on any Alliance ship. Why'd you really leave?" Austin asked.

"Maybe it's less about leaving, and more about staying. As a military doctor, I mostly treat people who are in bad shape. Often, they die. And if I can help them, they move on. Either way, they leave." Said Chakwas, slightly regrettably.

"Apart from me, don't you have any friends or family?" Austin asked.

"No, not lacking friendship – just stability. Jeff… Joker will always have Vrolik syndrome. He would never admit it, but he needs my help. And he always will. I wish it weren't, but sadly, it's true." Chakwas replied.

"I understand. Treating Joker gives you a kind of stability." Said Austin.

"So does this ship, even if it's a copy. Or, hell, maybe it's you. Major Shepard, our immovable centre. A place for a person to stop and catch their breath. Or maybe I'm just happily drunk. Would it hurt if it was simple like that for once?" Chakwas smiled.

"To the people we care for." Austin smiled back as he raised his glass.

"May we never take them for granted." Said Chakwas as she too raised the glass and they both drank, Chakwas longer than Austin.

"So how…" Austin began, but then he noticed that Chakwas had fallen asleep. He gave a happy sigh and stood up. For a moment, he had a bit of trouble standing. He was beginning to fear that he too might have had a bit too much of that Brandy. He quickly regained control though and walked up to Chakwas. Using his strength he lifted the sleeping Doctor out of the chair and carried her over to one of the med beds. As he set her down and made her comfortable, he also found a blanket and laid it over his friends sleeping form.

"Sleep well, Karin." Austin smiled as he planted a friendly kiss on her forehead and left the medbay.

* * *

Austin was finding it very difficult to keep his balance. He felt rather drunk and also rather dizzy. He ultimately decided that he should probably sleep this off as well and he limped dizzily towards the elevator. As he went to press the button for his cabin however, his hand slipped and he instead pressed the button for the cargo bay.

"Damn it!" he cursed.

* * *

As the doors opened, Austin went to press the right button, but stopped when he noticed the conversation between Dell and Sill. Dell had some sort of canister in his arms and Sill looked a bit nervous of it.

"I still think this is a bad idea, Dad. If you're not careful, you'll put the whole ship to sleep." Said Sill.

"Dell, what are you playing with?" Austin asked cautiously.

"Sleeping gas canister. I've been using it in one of my experiments." Dell replied.

"And…?"

"And it doesn't work." Said the Arkane. At that moment however a faint hissing sound could suddenly be heard.

"What's that sound?" said Sill.

"Shit! Bit a gas, give me a minute. Gotta plug it up." Said Dell innocently as he went to try and do something with the gas canister that was clearly leaking.

" _Oh great!"_ Austin thought in his head as he felt the gas take it's effect on him. There was nothing he could do as he watched Dell fall onto his desk and drop the canister as the gas affected him as well. Within seconds, everyone else followed. Austin groaned as his vision blurred and finally went black.

* * *

Austin groaned as he slowly came to his senses. Someone was calling his name. As his vision slowly cleared, he found it was Kelly.

"Shepard? Shepard, are you okay?" the Yeoman asked worriedly as she helped Austin onto his feet.

"Oh, my head! What happened?" Austin asked. His head hurt a lot and he felt a bit confused.

"Dell put the whole ship to sleep." Said Kelly crossly, looking over at the Arkane engineer who was still mumbling and talking in his sleep.

"I'm gonna save Arkadia…. Because I'm… I'm the… I'm the greatest reindeer in the galaxy!" he mumbled.

"For Christ's sake!" Kelly swore at him as she helped Austin into the elevator and hit the button for Austin's cabin. "Are you alright, Shepard?" she repeated.

"Minor throbbing. I think I probably hit my head on the floor very hard." Said Austin as he rubbed his forehead which did feel as though it had a very small bruise. The elevator doors opened and Kelly helped Austin onto the sofa.

"Have you had something to drink? You look a little drunk?" Kelly asked.

"I had a bit of brandy with Chakwas earlier. Little friendly gesture." Said Austin.

"That's nice. But I don't think you should do any work like this." Said Kelly as she felt Austin's slightly bruised forehead.

"But what am I supposed to do all day?" Austin asked.

Kelly's expression then turned to a very seductive smile.

"I can think of something." She said.

To Austin's surprise, Kelly clicked her fingers and all the lights in his quarters went out.

"What the…? What's going on?" Austin panicked slightly.

He could hear what looked like clothing being removed. What was Kelly doing?

There was another click and the lights came back on. What Austin saw though, left him absolutely speechless.

Kelly had stripped out of her Helldiver uniform completely and was now wearing one of those outfits that the dancers at Omega wore. A small difference though was that hers had zipped coverings over her breasts, which where surprisingly large even when concealed in the outfit, and over her pussy as well. She was also now stood right on top of the table in front of the sofa and a long pole was slowly rising out of it. Kelly looked down at Austin with a look of nothing but pure lust and seduction on her face.

"You need some entertainment, Major. And I'm more than happy to help." She said as she gripped the now fully risen pole in her left hand and rubbed her covered pussy with her other, moaning slightly as she did so.

"I… Kelly, I… I don't know what to…" Austin stuttered, utterly speechless at the truly erotic sight before him.

"Say? Don't say anything, Shepard. Just relax, and enjoy!" said Kelly. She then lifted her right foot up and used it to push Austin back against the sofa. He stayed there and got more comfortable. Kelly then activated her omni tool and the same music that was played in Afterlife started playing. Kelly started dancing.

Kelly's movements mesmerized Austin. Where had the Yeoman learned this? Right now though he didn't care at all. All that mattered to him now was watching this show, making the most of it, and hopefully seeing Kelly strip out of that thing completely.

As the music played, Kelly moved her hips back and forth from side to side as she did so. She then started moving her hands up and down her body. First up her slender legs and slowly up to her behind. Kelly swirled around so that Austin could now see the back of her and she continued moving her hands up. As her hands moved her over her hips she bent down slightly and stuck her ass out so that Austin had a beautiful view of it. So that she didn't lose her balance and fall off the table, she removed one hand from her hips and held onto the pole. The other hand she used to massage one of her ass cheeks for Austin enjoyment before giving it a hard slap.

"Ohhh, yeah!" Austin cheered. His trousers and boxers where now really strained as they struggled to contain his growing erection. Watching this whole thing was really making him hard.

"You like this, Shepard?" Kelly teased as she very briefly moved part of the outfit aside, giving Austin a very brief look at her uncovered ass.

"Hell yeah!" Austin responded, trying to resist the temptation to reach out and grope Kelly's hot ass. His cock now felt like a raging animal wanting to be let out of it's cage and be freed. "Keep up the show, Kelly! I want to make the most of this. Go crazy, play with yourself, have some fun, I don't care! Just give me your best show!"

"Do I get a reward at the end?" Kelly asked as she resumed moving her hands up her body now moving them all over her smooth tummy as though she was bathing in something.

"You most certainly do, Kelly! I'm gonna reward you regardless, but if you do a really, really good show, the reward's twice as good." Austin smiled very slyly as he gave his raging cock a few strokes through his trousers.

"Well then, in that case, hold on Shepard! This is gonna be fun!" Kelly smiled as she now started dancing even more wildly to the music. She now started moving even faster and her hands moving over her stomach moved even faster too. She even made the sight even more erotic by using her fingers and making them almost claw like, as though she was trying to rip the dancer outfit apart.

Next her hands moved even higher and she now reached her breasts. Although they where still hidden by the outfit, Austin could see her nipples getting erect through the material.

"Take a good luck, Shepard. Take a good luck at my big titties!" Kelly moaned as though she was begging Austin to look.

Austin did so and stared directly at Kelly's bulging cleavage that her hand movements where very nicely making even more hotter to look at.

"I'll bet you'd like to touch 'em." Kelly teased.

Austin nodded.

"I'll bet you'd like to suck them." Kelly teased again.

Austin nodded again, this time slightly faster.

"You'd like to take your big, hard cock and stick it between my tits! You'd like me to titty fuck you until you burst all over 'em!" Kelly teased, unable to help how wet she was getting now. This was even more fun than she'd thought it would be.

"Yeah!" Austin moaned.

Kelly finally finished her hand's journey up her body by finishing at her neck and face. She also moaned loudly and stuck her tongue out, licking her lips erotically.

As the music still continued drumming and beating fast, Kelly grabbed hold of the pole and now started dancing around it. Thrusting herself against it, swivelling around it, hanging upside down, and even pretending at points that it was a sex toy. In all his life, Austin hadn't ever seen a sight like this. It was amazing.

Kelly now hopped down from the table and got real up close to Austin.

"This isn't a club you know. You can touch me all you want, baby!" she moaned into his ear.

Taking this as the next Austin began sliding his arms around Kelly's waist and to her ass. He gave her a playful slap, which immediately got her even more aroused than she already was. Kelly then stepped up on top of the sofa. Now her pussy was right in line with Austin face. It was really tempting now to just rip away the covering and give her several licks. Even from this distance, he could feel the heat emanating from her core.

Kelly continued to dance and made sure to keep teasing Austin by moving her hips and keeping her covered pussy really close to Austin face. Austin did still keep moving his hands up and down her legs, savouring the feel of the flesh of her legs that was exposed.

"So smooth! So warm! So soft!" he moaned as he gave the yeoman's thighs a brief massage causing Kelly to sigh in delight.

"You really know how to make a girl happy." Kelly smiled, moving her hands down to Austin's face and holding him affectionately.

"And you know how to give a brilliant show!" said Austin as he inhaled Kelly's sweet scent.

Kelly smiled even more and gave Austin a kiss on the cheek before stepping back and standing against the holographic armour customizer. She gave the Major a wink as she continued her extremely erotic dance.

Kelly's movements where like water, so fluid and graceful. It was clear that the Yeoman had done this before. Austin did think it was an odd thing for someone like Kelly to do, but right now he really didn't care. He was far too aroused by this show.

Kelly once again kept sticking her pretty ass out and shook it very seductively. Austin's mind was fine, but his body's patience was now wearing very thin. It was taking a lot now to resist the urge to take his cock out and jump Kelly. Like Liara had said many years ago though, Austin was remarkably strong wiled.

Kelly could tell how Austin was trying to resist his temptation. She could see the large bulge through his trousers. This just turned her on all the more. Ever since she had seen him naked with Liara a few days ago, the sight had constantly haunted her dreams. She had usually woken from some very sexy dreams with a damp patch right under her pussy. She could only imagine how large that monster really was up close in real life. She too was starting to get impatient to strip out of this dancer outfit and throw Austin down onto the bed.

However, the fact that she was torturing him with this show, and the fact that they where both enjoying it so much, kept her under control.

The Afterlife music continued with Kelly constantly dancing to it. Sweat was starting to appear on her skin and her breathing was starting to rise. Austin too was starting to sweat a bit. Kelly decided to use this in the show and move on to the next stage.

"It's getting hot in here, isn't it?" she asked seductively as she fanned herself with her hand.

Austin noticed and decided to also tease Kelly a bit. He took his shirt and jacket off, exposing his muscular chest which was breathing at a fast rate and looked even more inviting to Kelly with his sweat.

"Ooooohhhh, nice!" Kelly smiled as she licked her lips.

"Keep dancing, Chambers. This is just a small preview of your reward." Said Austin as he sat back against the sofa and got comfortable.

"Yes sir!" said Kelly.

The Yeoman then hopped back up onto the table with the pole. Austin then watched as Kelly slowly started unzipping the covering over her breasts.

You wanna see my boobs?" Kelly teased.

"You don't need to ask, Kelly. Just strip!" Austin clapped.

Kelly smiled again and continued to unzipping the covering. As part of it came away, Kelly covered her left breasts with her hand. She'd unveil them fully when the covering was completely off. No need to rush things.

Austin's trousers where now nearing breaking point as his cock was begging to be released. Kelly finally finished unzipping the covering and used her free arm to cover her other breast. She then threw the covering to Austin. The Helldiver caught it and smiled. This was by far the very best dance he'd ever seen. Kelly was putting even Aria's dancers to shame with this. Although to be fair, they weren't allowed to be anywhere near this erotic nor remove their outfits.

Kelly stared at Austin's lustful gaze for a moment before slowly letting her arm drop away, revealing bother her large breasts in all their glory.

"Wow!" said Austin amazed at their size. Her Helldiver uniform and the dancer outfit certainly did a good job of hiding how large they really where. They still seemed a bit small compared to Liara's, but this did not disappoint him.

"You like what you see?" Kelly asked seductively as she squeezed them together.

"Hell yes!" Austin replied. His cock now felt like it was gonna suffocate if not released. To his relief though what Kelly said next, would remedy that. She knelt down in front of Austin and moved up his legs and rubbed his cock through his trousers. Austin moaned loudly at her touch.

"Now, listen carefully, Major. I want you next to put your hand in your pants, pull out your big hard cock, and I want you to watch me continue dancing and rub my tits until you burst all over them." She said seductively.

"Is that an order?" Austin joked, playing along with Kelly's seduction.

"No. But I did promise you a show and we're still far from done yet. To continue enjoying it, you need to join in." Kelly replied.

"Very well then. Carry on. I'll let the rest of the audience in." Austin smiled.

Kelly smiled back and went back up onto the table. Now that she had her tits hanging out, Kelly also shook her chest around so that they bounced and moved about.

Austin meanwhile did as Kelly had said and slowly reached into his boxers. Kelly watched excitedly, eager more than anything to see her Major's hard cock. Austin used his other hand to unzip his trousers and then pushed the front of his boxers down slightly. Kelly gasped as Austin's fully grown 10 inch cock was finally freed at long last.

"Oh my god! It's even larger than I ever imagined!" she said, lost for words slightly.

"I completely forgive you now for that last time you came in here without knocking." Said Austin as he started stroking himself.

"That's it, baby! Stroke that cock!" Kelly encouraged.

Austin cleared his throat slightly and Kelly remembered that she still wasn't finished. The Yeoman resumed her dancing, now really wet now that she knew that Austin was watching her and stroking his wonderfully massive cock.

Kelly swivelled around the pole several times before stopping and hanging upside down, wiggling her chest from side to side as she did so. It took a lot for her not to just stop the dance right there and rub her pussy as she watched Austin masturbate to her. She also shook her ass around a lot as well. She could not deny that she could see Austin looking her butt. She had even had reason to believe that the Major had risked a few glances at her gorgeous behind during times when she'd been on duty and during their meal in this same cabin.

Austin was well aware of how aroused Kelly was now and continued teasing her by upping the pace of his strokes. The sweat from his skin was also helping. It was much easier for him to touch himself if his cock had a bit of lubricant. He then decided to tease Kelly even more. It was only fair after all since she had done the same.

"What do you want to do? Tell me. Tell me what you're going to do with this young… hard cock." He said.

"I'm gonna touch it! I'm gonna take it in my hands… and suck it! Mmmmm, suck it!" Kelly moaned as she knelt down and touched herself through the outfit, using her other hand to fondle one of her boobs.

"When I'm ready to cum?" Austin continued.

"First, I'm gonna let you cum in my mouth. Then, I'm gonna repeat the process until you burst again. Then I'm gonna let you cum on my face! All over my face, all over my tits and all over my tummy!" Kelly moaned.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Austin smiled.

"Should let you know, Shepard, we're nearing the end. So how about you keep touching yourself, and I perform the final bit?" Kelly moaned.

"By all means. Then you can have your reward… me all to yourself." Said Austin.

"Mmmmm, what a delicious offer. First thing I'm definitely gonna do is get your cock all nice and wet with my mouth!" said Kelly excitedly as she started unzipping the covering over her pussy as well.

As the covering slowly came away, Austin saw how wet Kelly really was. She was absolutely dripping.

"What are you waiting for then?" Austin asked, really turned on by Kelly's now half naked form.

Kelly once again knelt down in front of him and gently took his Austin's fully grown erection into her hands. It felt so warm and hard to her touch. She could even see and feel the thick veins in Austin's cock pulsing. Austin reached out and touched Kelly's cheek.

"Ready? I know how to give a hell of a good blowjob!" Kelly asked.

"All yours, Kelly! Have fun! You've earned it." Austin replied.

Kelly smiled and gave Austin a few strokes.

"I always feel a little… hands on approach works best." She smiled. And with that, Kelly took Austin's cock fully into her mouth. Austin moaned loudly as she started licking and sucking deeply, the insides of her wet mouth making his tool nice and wet. Kelly's tongue swivelled around his head and she moaned and hummed as she deeply enjoyed the taste of her Major's cock.

"Oh god! Yeah, that's it! Suck it! Suck it like you said you would!" Austin moaned encouragingly as he affectionately ruffled Kelly's red hair.

Kelly immediately responded and stared sucking even faster and licking even faster. She could already start tasting some pre cum oozing out of Austin's cock. At the same time her bobbing sped up even faster. Her head bobbed up and down as she continued sucking. She used her other hand and started fondling his balls, increasing his pleasure tenfold. He repaid Kelly by moving his hand down to her bouncing breasts and started fondling them. The Yeoman moaned her approval onto the blowjob she was giving.

"Fuck you're good! Where the hell did you learn to do this?!" Austin moaned.

Kelly took a very quick break from her sucking and let Austin's cock pop out of her mouth.

"I've had a very interesting sex life, Major. Picked up a lot of skills from it, skills that I'm glad to be putting to use on you." She said as she looked into Austin's eyes.

"Don't let me stop you then. Enjoy your reward, then we can have some real fun." Said Austin.

"My pleasure, Major. Let me improve this a bit." She said.

Kelly then moved up slightly and allowed Austin to rest his hard cock in the valley between her breasts. She then pushed them both together and started moving up and down at a fast rate.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Austin moaned.

"You did tell me that this was what you wanted to do! And like I said, I'm gonna suck you off until you cum in my mouth, and then I'll start all over again until you burst all over my face and all over my tits. You're gonna bathe me in your cum!" said Kelly.

She then once again took Austin's cock back into her mouth and resumed her blowjob as continued bobbing her head and tits up and down on the beef stick. Austin meanwhile had also joined in and was thrusting his hips in time with Kelly. He could feel his first orgasm getting very close. Kelly would be happy.

"Open wide, Kelly! Here it comes!" he moaned.

Kelly did so and opened her mouth wide. At the same time she continued pumping the cock with both her hands.

"Fuuuuuucck!" Austin moaned as he shot a massive load into Kelly's waiting mouth. Kelly latched her mouth back onto the cock and sucked really hardly so that she drained Austin of as much cum as possible. When she'd sucked him dry she took a moment to get her breath back before giving him another round.

"Wow! That was delicious. And you gave me so much." She panted.

"Wait till you see what my dick can do in bed and inside your pussy." Austin said encouragingly.

"I like the sound of that. Yes, I want you to make my pussy sing!" said Kelly.

Deciding to make Austin's pleasure better, she got on top of Austin and lined his still hard cock up with her pussy which dripped onto his cock.

Have I told you how sexy you look in that thing? Especially with your tits and pussy exposed?" he said.

"You're too kind, Shepard. Perhaps we should do this more often." Kelly smiled.

Before Austin could respond, she plunged herself down onto his cock. Both moaned loudly in ecstasy as the Helldiver filled the Yeoman right up to the brim.

"Oh god! You're huge!" Kelly moaned.

"And you're so tight!" Austin moaned through gritted teeth as he moved his hands around to Kelly's ass and fondled it.

Kelly started bouncing herself up and down on Austin as he caught on and started thrusting his cock in and out of her.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Fuck me harder, Shepard!" Kelly screamed.

Austin hugged Kelly close to him as he thrust into her tight pussy. He paused briefly to tease her other hole with his finger as her fondled her beautiful bottom.

"Put them in!" Kelly moaned. Austin didn't need to be told twice and he thrust his middle finger into her asshole. Kelly's pleasure increased even more as Austin fucked her in both her holes now. In all her years, she'd never felt anything like this. It was heaven.

Kelly's insides gripping his cock coupled with his finger thrust into her ass and her big boobs bouncing right in front of his face, combined also with the Afterlife music that was still playing, and even the loud wet slapping noise coming their thrusts was driving Austin over the edge and he was once again getting ready to cum.

"Fuck me! Oh…. Shepard, you're cock feels so good inside me!" Kelly moaned.

"Aw… yeah… fuck! You have such a dirty mouth for a Yeoman, Kelly. How'd you manage to keep all this from the Arkanes?" Austin asked as his hips kept slapping loudly against Kelly's soaked thighs.

"Persuasion." Kelly simply said cheekily. "Oh shit, you're so deep!"

Austin smiled and laughed slightly as his hungry mouth latched onto one of Kelly's nipples and he sucked hard. Kelly moaned her approval and dug her nails hard across Austin's back, supposedly drawing blood.

"Aggggh! Bitch!" Austin moaned as he took Kelly's other nipple into his mouth.

"You like my tits, don't you?! Bite them harder!" Kelly moaned. That last comment pushed Austin beyond the point of no return. He was now ready to cum again. This time it felt like he had a much larger load ready for the beautiful Yeoman.

"Kelly… I'm gonna cum again!" he said through gritted teeth, doing his best to hold it in until both he and the Yeoman where ready.

Kelly immediately responded and moved off him, allowing his cock, which was now coated in Kelly's love juice, to slide out. Austin immediately went back to stroking his erection as Kelly knelt down in front of him and fondled her tits as she watched his strokes. Her heavy pants seemed to match in time with Austin's hand movements.

"Come on, Shepard! Stroke that cock! I want you to cum all over my big juicy tits! Paint me with your cum!" she moaned as one of her hands pinched her nipples.

Austin gritted his teeth before he finally let go and his cock erupted. At least five massive spurts of sticky cum shot out and landed on Kelly's breasts, one spurt even landed on her face. Kelly quickly licked it off.

"Mmmmm. Your seed is so warm and tasty, I could bathe in it!" she moaned approvingly as she gathered the rest of the cum from her chest on her finger and licked it off.

"Phew! That was fun!" Austin panted.

"Now you said something about another round?" Kelly smiled, not showing the slightest sign of tiredness.

"Give me a minute, Kelly. I need some time to get another load in the chamber." Said Austin.

Kelly nodded and nuzzled up to Austin. She reached down and gave Austin's cock several slow gentle strokes so that he stayed hard.

"So what are we gonna do?" she asked with a seductive smile on her face.

"Well, firstly, you're gonna take off that outfit and get completely naked for me. Then, you're gonna help me get these trousers off and then you'll see what I can really do with my cock." Said Austin.

"You don't have to say that again, Sir. All this latex really make a girl sweat." Kelly smiled as she stood up and went back up on the table to give Austin one last dance.

Kelly once again moved her hips to the music. She then turned her back to the Helldiver and reached for the zip on the back of her outfit. She winked at Austin and slowly pulled it down until it reached all the way to her ass. She then turned back to Austin and pulled the upper region off of her shoulders first. Kelly's beautiful chest heaved with each breath as the upper part fell away.

"Keep going, Kelly." Said Austin as he stroked his cock to Kelly's full strip.

Kelly then turned her back to Austin again and then stuck her butt out at him.

"See my ass?!" she teased.

With Austin now admiring the full view of her behind, she slowly eased the rest of the dancer outfit down her smooth legs. Finally the region around her bottom slid away and Austin whistled slightly as her ass was full exposed.

Kelly smiled and gave her ass a playfully hard smack as she slid her right leg out of the outfit first. This was quickly followed by the other and Kelly kicked the outfit away. The Yeoman turned back to face Austin again and now stood as fully naked as the day she was born.

"Good, you are truly are a red head." Said Austin as he noticed a small tuff of hair right above Kelly's vagina.

"Glad you like it. Now, let's get you out of those trousers." Kelly smiled as she hopped down from the table. Before she walked up to Austin, she activated her omni tool. The Afterlife music stopped playing and the pole retreated back into the table. With that taken care of, Kelly walked up to Austin and hastily tried to just yank his trousers and boxers off.

"Whoa, whoa! Slow down, sweetheart! No need to rush!" said Austin, surprised at Kelly's aggressiveness.

Kelly however didn't really listen and picked Austin up.

"Get your ass over here, now!" she demanded as she threw him onto the soft mattress of his bed. Then an idea hit her. She knew now how to really remember this night.

"Say, Shepard. I've just thought of something. Wanna make a porn movie?" she asked. As she spoke, she activated her omni tool and one of those camera drones that the news reporters use flew out from behind Austin's desk.

"Errr… well… I'm, not sure if I like the idea of everyone in the galaxy watching this. I have a reputation to keep." Said Austin hesitantly. At the same time though, he liked the idea of being able to watch this whole thing and relive it again whenever he liked.

"It's just for us, Shepard. Only you and I will ever see it. We may never get a chance to do this again for a long time, and I doubt I'll be able to keep my urges under control without something." Said Kelly.

"Well when you put it that way, I suppose it's okay. Alright then. Let's give that camera a show!" Austin smiled. His cock immediately went rock hard again and stood at full attention in front of Kelly as the excitement flooded his head.

Kelly blew Austin a kiss from where she was standing and activated her omni tool. The red light on the camera came on and Kelly started walking very slowly and seductively towards the bed, swinging her hips from side to side as she did.

When she finally reached the edge of the bed, she started crawling up Austin's body, pausing briefly to only give his hard cock a kiss and a quick lick. She then started slowly kissed up Austin's stomach, up his chest and finally she paused at his face as she looked lovingly into his eyes.

"Kiss me." She whispered desperately.

Austin didn't hesitate and kissed Kelly on the lips. The camera it seemed was very smart and it zoomed in and readjusted the angle so that it had a perfect view of the kiss. Kelly it seemed was being more forward than Austin and she proceeded to try and French kiss him. Austin at first was a bit resistant, but he quickly eased into it and allowed Kelly's tongue to slide into his mouth. All the while his hands moved down her arms and started squeezing her breasts. They usually where his favourite part of a woman to play with during sex. So sensitive, so firm, so soft, and usually quite a handful.

Once again, the camera adjusted itself for the full perfect view and zoomed out slightly so that it now had a view of the kiss and also Austin's fondling. This little movie would definitely keep Kelly satisfied for a long time, and probably him as well when he could find the time to view it.

The two finally broke apart from the kiss for air and panted heavily. The love was still in Kelly's eyes.

"Suck my tits, Shepard. I want to feel your tongue on them again!" She said.

Austin did do so and began sucking on Kelly's bust again. At the same time, Kelly reached down and took Austin's erection in her hand. It had softened slightly since their last fuck, but Kelly's firm strokes quickly brought it back to full hardness as Austin's dick filled back up with blood. As before, the camera zoomed out even more and readjusted the angle just a tiny bit so that the sucking of Kelly's breasts, both partner's heads and Kelly's stroking of Austin's dick where all in shot. Austin would have to ask where Kelly got that thing. It's AI was very good.

Kelly moaned in pleasure as Austin chewed on her moist boobs. Austin too was moaning from Kelly stroking his cock. The vibrations of his moans only added to the Yeoman's pleasure and the stimulation of her nipples. Austin added his other hand to the pleasure and used it to pinch the nipple on Kelly's other breast.

"Keep sucking them, Shepard! Oh god, this feels so good! This is way too much for the extranet! Anyone else would just die of pleasure!" Kelly sighed.

"Yeah, but what a way to go, huh?" Austin smiled as he finished sucking Kelly's tits.

"What do you wanna do next, lover?" Kelly asked seductively.

"Well, now that you ask, there is something we haven't tried yet." Austin replied.

Before Kelly could inquire further, Austin flipped them around so that he was now behind Kelly. Kelly could see where this was going.

"How right you are, Shepard." She smiled as she gave Austin a quick kiss behind her.

"On all fours now, like a good girl." Said Austin. The way he said it in his British accent just turned Kelly on even more.

Kelly obeyed and dropped down onto her hands. She'd already been on her knees since she'd been on top earlier, so there was no need to kneel down. This was now the first time that Austin saw how tight Kelly was. He was quite worried that he wouldn't fit, especially without some lubricant. Fortunately, Kelly sensed his hesitation.

"Allow me." She said.

Still on all fours, Kelly turned around and took Austin's cock into her wet warm mouth. Austin had to admit that doing it like this looked far more erotic. With him on his knees and Kelly on all fours, it just seemed better this way. It had now occurred to him that Kelly was first woman he'd bedded that had done a blow job this way, and that just turned him on even more.

"Aw…. Ah, fuck yeah! Good girl!" said Austin as he put his hand on the back of Kelly's head and helped with her bobbing back and forth on his beef stick. Kelly made sure to use her tongue as much as she could to get the Helldiver's cock as wet and lubricated as much as she could. She was enjoying the taste so much that she had to remind herself not to bite on it. The last thing she wanted was to ruin this whole thing with Austin now, especially since the camera was recoding this.

Once Kelly was certain that his cock was now wet enough she let it out of her mouth and turned back around, she also shook her pretty ass about a bit just for fun.

"Hmmm, I'm still not sure if it's wet enough." Said Austin in a teasing manner.

"What?" said Kelly. But before she even got a reply, Austin grabbed her hips and rammed his cock all the way into her pussy. The Yeoman screamed loudly at the sudden intrusion but quickly relaxed as her inner walls adjusted to accommodate the Helldiver's size.

"Ohhh, I…" she tried to say, but another thrust cut her off. Kelly couldn't hold it and she accidently came right there. "Ahhhhhhh!"

"Right, that's more like it." Austin smiled as he pulled out his cock, which was now soaked in Kelly's saliva and love nectar. The camera zoomed in slightly to show this.

"Major, I… that was unexpected. I'm sorry I came to early." Kelly apologised, a bit worried that she had disappointed Austin. But the Helldiver looked happy and he even gave Kelly a peck on the cheek.

"Don't apologise, Kelly. That did the trick perfectly. I'd say we're both ready to fuck that pert little bottom of yours." He smiled.

Just to be safe he also took some of the lubricant from his cock and spread it on Kelly's puckered entrance.

"Just be gentle, Shepard. I've only done this once, and that was a long time ago." Said Kelly, as though she was actually begging Austin to be gentle.

"Don't worry. We're in no rush." Austin smiled.

With the both of them now ready, Austin lined his hard cock up with her hole and slowly eased himself in. Kelly almost screamed as his huge meat eased in. He felt even larger than he had done in her pussy. Austin too groaned at the resistance Kelly put up. Her ass was so tight it felt as though his cock was gonna burst like a balloon from the pressure.

"Bloody hell! You weren't lying! It's so tight." He groaned.

"It's the same for me. It feels like you've grown even larger since fucking my pussy." Said Kelly.

"You really like this cock, don't you?" Austin asked as Kelly's ass slowly seemed to loosen up to accommodate his size.

"I love it! I'm even tempted to say that I want you to get me pregnant with that thing!" Kelly moaned as the initial pain from her ass was replaced by pleasure.

"Steady on, girl. Let's not rush into anything. Though the initial idea does turn me on." Said Austin.

"Turns me on too. But for now, just keep fucking that ass! The camera's still watching!" Kelly moaned as Austin gave her ass a hard slap. Sue enough, the camera even zoomed in a bit more so that it had a better view of Austin's wet cock sliding in and out.

Kelly's moans got even louder as the pleasure in her ass got even better and she gripped the sheets so tightly that she nearly tore them.

"Oh fuck, fuck me harder! Jesus, Shepard, you're so good!" she moaned through gritted teeth.

Austin meanwhile was thrusting his hips even faster as he listened to Kelly's beautiful voice and moans cheering him on. Despite that she had now loosened up, she was still very tight. So tight in fact that Austin could feel his own veins pulsing against the Yeoman's walls. He had a feeling that Kelly was feeling this as well.

Kelly was getting very close once again. She put one of her hands on her ass cheek as her imminent cum release came closer and closer.

"Shepard… you're gonna make me cum again!" she moaned. She felt as if at any moment now she would tear in half with the pressure building up in her belly, exploding in ecstasy.

Austin smiled slyly and increased his thrusting speed even more. He was so deep now that he was balls-deep in Kelly's ass.

"How do you want me to cum?" he asked.

"Out! I want you to spray your jizz all over my back!" Kelly moaned. Sweat was now dripping from both their foreheads as they readied for the grand finale.

Austin pulled out of Kelly's anus and stroked his cock vigorously. Within seconds, the pulsing member let loose and his cock jerked in his hand as it completely exploded and a massive spurt of cum shot out. Kelly gave a heavy sigh as the cum spurts landed on her back, some in her red hair, and most of it in the V shape of her beautiful ass.

"Now that was a cum shot!" she said as she flipped over and lay on the bed on her back.

"Up for more?" Austin smiled, his hard cock still pulsing with each heartbeat.

"Come here." Kelly smiled seductively as she motioned for Austin to come to her with her finger.

Austin crawled towards Kelly and gently put his cock in between her tits again.

"Another titty fuck? Good call!" Kelly smiled as she squeezed her bust together and set to work again.

With Austin on top this time, Kelly relied mostly on Austin since she could only move her boobs up and down while he thrust his cock back and forth.

Once again, the camera readjusted for the best angle. It zoomed in to show Kelly's face and the dick sliding up and down between her breasts. It also floated up slightly higher to get the best shots.

"Boy, is that camera getting some shots here." Said Austin happily as his wet hard cock was given the best tit fuck it'd had yet.

"I'm gonna enjoy touching my pussy as I watch this every night." Said Kelly as she gave the head of Austin's cock a quick lick every time it thrusted upwards.

"Talking of which, I still haven't licked your pussy yet. You've sucked my cock, it's only fair." Said Austin.

Kelly smiled and nodded in agreement. She released Austin's dick from between her breasts and allowed him to go down on her. She even spread her pussy lips apart to show how wet and eager she was for her Helldiver.

"That looks inviting." Austin smiled.

"Just shut up and lick my cunt!" Kelly moaned impatiently.

Austin did as he was told and stuck his tongue out. Kelly moaned in delight as the Major licked her pussy. Very few had ever given her this much pleasure with her tongue. The Yeoman arched her back as she felt his tongue connect with her wet sex. Kelly was sent into another orgasm as Austin dug his tongue through her folds into her love canal. Her juices started flowing and Austin soon tasted her sweet nectar which tasted better than he had anticipated. He felt her body rocking and let up for a moment.

"You, sweetheart, are delicious." He smiled as he went to wipe Kelly's cum from his mouth, but the Yeoman stopped him as she pulled him forward and kissed him on the lips again, tasting her own juices as she did so.

The next few long hours where filled with nothing but pure sex which the camera captured every millisecond of. Kelly even made it even sexier by including toys in it. They went through at least five different sized dildos and Austin also used a nipple clamp on her. Something he never thought he'd ever do to a girl. After what felt like an entire day of fucking and continuing to make their porn movie, both Austin and Kelly where almost spent. Kelly once again pulled Austin into another passionate kiss.

"You look tired, Kelly. But I think you've got one last fuck in you." Said Austin when Kelly finally detached her mouth from his.

"Yes. Just before we do though, I have one last thing I want to do." She said as she got up from the bed and went to once again rummaging around in her bag from where she'd got the dildos from. When she finally emerged, she had a large cylinder tube with an attached pump in her hands. Austin knew immediately what this was having seen several extranet porn vids.

"Err… are you sure about this Kelly?" he asked nervously as Kelly knelt back down on the bed with the penis pump in her hand.

"Please… we may only get one chance to do this, so I want to make the most of it." Kelly pleaded. "Don't worry, I used this one a long time ago on my old boyfriend and he really liked it."

"Oh alright, seeing as I can never say no to that sexy body of yours." Austin smiled.

Kelly gave Austin another kiss on the cheek and slowly slid the tube down his cock. She could see how nervous Austin was though.

"I'll take it slow, Shepard. I promise. But I swear, it wont' hurt. Think of it as being similar to when an Asari uses a Union biotic to enlarge a part of your body." She said.

"And you would know?" Austin asked. But he did relax bit after what Kelly had said.

"No, but I know you would. I did once spy on you and Liara making love. I couldn't help myself." Kelly smiled mischiefusly.

"Alright, let's do this." Said Austin as he took a deep brief.

Kelly made sure the cylinder was secure against his skin, and then she started pumping. To start off with, the suction was just minor but as Kelly pumped harder and harder it started to feel a bit tight around where his skin met the pump. Then Austin began to feel the suction on his cock. As all the air was slowly pumped out, he felt his organ was actually growing, it was actually being slowly stretched and enlarged. There was a bit of pain, but true to what Kelly had said it did also feel the same as when Liara used her biotics so make his cock grow.

Both the camera and Austin watched as his dick slowly kept growing longer and longer and thicker and thicker. Kelly meanwhile was enjoying this a lot. She enjoyed giving Austin a bit of torture and pleasure at the same time. The sight of Austin's dick slowly growing was also turning her on a lot, and she was getting wet again.

Austin started to groan loudly as the enlarging did start to get more painful. It did feel as though his dick would eventually tear apart or worse. Kelly smiled at Austin's expression, but she could tell that it was starting to hurt.

"Just a bit more, Shepard. You've almost reached the length of the tube." Said Kelly as she noticed a bit of pre cum being squeezed out of the head as the suction continued.

"After this… I'm not gonna… Ow!...doubt… sex toys again!" Austin groaned, doing his best to keep his scream in.

"Almost there… done!" said Kelly. The Yeoman stopped pumping and allowed some air back into the tube.

Austin breathed a sigh of relief as his cock was finally allowed to breath. As Kelly slid the tube off, she looked at her work. It had definitely worked and Austin had definitely enlarged an extra 2 inches at least. The head was also slightly larger and was drumming hard, begging to be stuck inside a pussy.

"Well, what do you think?" Austin asked.

"I think… I wanna sit on this." Kelly smiled as she took the cock into her hands and gave it a few strokes.

Austin smiled and pulled Kelly up so that she was now right above him. He briefly turned to the camera.

"Kelly, if you are watching this now. This is for you." He said.

Kelly smiled and gave her ass a playful slap for the camera.

Without a second thought, Austin took his cock in his hand and slowly eased it into Kelly's dripping vagina.

"Oh fuck!" Kelly moaned. "That pump's made such a difference. It feels like a Krogan cock!"

"Did you…"

"No." Kelly replied quickly. "I've only researched and seen extranet videos."

"Okay, now then, let's make the most of this last one." Said Austin.

"Let's fuck!" said Kelly.

The thrusting started off very slow to begin with but gradually sped up faster and faster. The pump it seemed had made Austin's dick a tiny bit more sensitive, but he slowly got used to it as he rammed his hips hard against Kelly.

The camera was moving about nearly every minute for a different angle each time. Some showing the front and Kelly's boobs bouncing up and down, others showed her ass and back. Briefly the camera settled on the bed and got a close up shot and a perfect view of Austin's cock disappearing in and out of Kelly's pussy.

"Spank my ass!" Kelly moaned, aware that the camera was looking at it.

Austin did so and gave Kelly's bottom a very hard slap which he think left marks.

"Oh, that is nice!" Kelly moaned.

Austin then decided to try a slightly different pose while he and Kelly still could. He moved them so that he was no longer on the bed and now standing up while Kelly was still laying there. He then twisted her onto her side a bit so that there was good view of her full front nudity. The camera quickly caught on and moved itself into the right position for the best view possible. Austin quickly resumed his thrusting. The bed was nice and high up so Austin didn't need to kneel down to be in line with Kelly.

The Yeoman took a sharp intake of breath and moaned through gritted teeth as Austin still thrust in and out. She could no longer deny that her orgasm had signalled that it was coming, it was still far off though and Kelly reckoned that she would last another few minutes. Austin felt the same. Sensing that they both didn't have much time, Austin once again changed their position. This time they both laid back on the bed but with switched positions. This time, Austin was on top and thrusting into Kelly while she bent her knees inwards slightly and held onto Austin's buttocks to help him thrust in.

Kelly screamed as Austin's thrusting now reached a very fast pace. He now seemed to make two thrusts every second.

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Oh! God!" Kelly moaned with each thrust.

Kelly's orgasm finally arrived and she screamed Austin's name as she came all over his massive cock.

Austin was able to last a bit longer and thrust into her as fast as he could. There really was no stopping him now.

"Nnnnngghh!" Kelly groaned as she felt Austin get close.

That final moan from Kelly was all it took. Austin immediately pulled out and stroked his massive cock as fast as he could.

"Kelly!" he moaned as he came.

To both partners utter shock, gallons of cum shot out of his cock as he ejaculated, and Kelly was practically bathed in the stuff. It landed all over her face, all over her tits, all over her tummy, in her waiting mouth, and some even landed in the small red bush above her pussy.

"Holy shit!" Austin panted.

The camera instantly zoomed in to show a full shot of Kelly panting heavily and bathed entirely in spurts of Austin's cum.

"I don't know what to say, Kelly. That was… incredible." Said Austin.

Kelly looked up at Austin and blew him another kiss.

"Time to wake up, Shepard." She said.

"What?!"

* * *

Austin woke. He was in his quarters. A difference though was that the covers where over him, he wasn't sweating, and someone was nuzzling against him. Austin looked to see none other than Liara sleeping calmly against him, from the feel and look of things, she was naked. Austin also felt that so was he. Only now though did he feel that he had such a massive hang over. He also felt very light headed and groggy.

Liara stirred as he sat up and her eyes opened.

"Austin, thank the goddess you're awake. I've been rather worried about you." She said as she got up and gave Austin a full passionate kiss on the lips.

"Liara… I… what happened? Last thing I remember was having a drink with Karin, then…" Austin asked, still a bit confused at what had happened.

"You where already a bit drunk after all that Brandy you had with Chakwas, then you went down to the cargo hold. Dell was playing with a sleeping gas canister which he accidently caused to leak. Within seconds he put the whole cargo hold to sleep. Once the gas wore out, we found you all passed out. I carried you back up to our cabin, undressed you and put you to bed. I've been at your side the whole time." Liara explained.

"That's it?" Austin asked.

"Erm, yes. I think so." Said Liara.

"How come my cock feels as though it's been sucked though? It's still hard in fact." Austin asked as he indicated to his erection which was poking up from under the covers like a tent peg.

"Ah, that might have been me. You where moaning very loudly in your sleep and your cock went all hard. I tried to resist, but it ultimately turn me on too much and I… gave you a blowjob." Liara admitted, embarrassingly.

"I guess that explains the dream then." Said Austin as he lay back on the bed. His head hurt like hell and Liara's voice still felt a bit noisy even though she was speaking calmly and very quietly.

"What where you dreaming about anyway? When I tried to meld with you to see if I could communicate, your mind was all fuddled and unreadable." Liara asked curiously.

Austin now understood everything. All the sex with Kelly had been a dream, a very, very erotic and very pleasant dream, but a dream all the same. He quickly decided that it would be better if he didn't mention this. Liara probably wouldn't take kindly to the fact he had dreamed about having sex with Kelly and not her. He may have enjoyed the dream, but he could never willingly betray Liara. He loved her more than anything. Dream's like the one he had had often did mess with someone's mind and make them do things they wouldn't normally do in real life. He liked Kelly as a friend, nothing more and he'd only ever love Liara. Still, he doubted he'd be able to look at Kelly the same way again. Especially after that dance.

"To be honest, it was a wet dream. There was all these Asari and they jumped me. I was fucking them all in seconds." Said Austin. He quickly noticed Liara's face and added an extra bit. "It seemed you where there as well though. In fact all the others treated you as a queen."

Liara smiled seductively at this.

"Tell me, are you feeling all right?" she asked.

"Apart from a very bad hangover, fine. Why?" he asked. "Wait… I've seen that look before."

Before Austin could do anything, Liara pounced on him and started kissing him passionately. Austin was taken aback at first, but quickly eased into it. Liara briefly pulled away and spoke.

"Seeing as you are most likely gonna be unable to work today, I figured you'd like to spend the whole day in bed, with me, making love." She smiled seductively.

"Are you sure? What about…" Austin asked but Liara interrupted.

"I've told Alaara everything. She knows that you and I won't be available. She's got it all under control." She said.

"Oh… alright. How am I to refuse the perfect Asari?" Austin said as he gave in.

"I love you so much." Said Liara.

"I love you too." Austin smiled.

As Liara started kissing down Austin neck, he noticed his omni tool bleeping. Liara didn't notice as Austin hugged his arms around her and activated the notification. It said "Dream recording saved."

For a moment, Austin was stunned. Just to be sure, he played it for a few things. Sure enough, the whole thing with Kelly played on the screen, as clear as he saw Liara now.

" _Hmmm. I'll always love Liara, but maybe I'll keep this. Plus, I guess I can explain to Liara. She might like it."_ Austin thought.

For now though, Austin put this all aside as he and Liara began making love for what would be the entire day, and by far the best sex they had ever had.

"Embrace Eternity!"

* * *

Alaara slowly woke. Her ass and Azure ached like hell and she doubted she'd be able to walk properly for a while. Sandra and Careena where currently lying on the floor asleep. Wasea had now been taken back to the Normandy. She'd be handed over to the Helldivers and the Arkanes for interrogation.

Alaara smiled as she inhaled the scent of her wife's pussy. To her slight disappointment though, she wasn't wet at all.

"Why is the cum always gone?" Alaara said to herself.

As the Asari went to get up though, she felt rather sticky. She looked down to see that there was a torrent of dried cum all over her nude body.

"Oh, that's why." she smiled.

* * *

 **Well, there we have i** t.

**Do be honest though, I'll bet you did think that the whole thing was real for a moment.**

**Anyway, hope I didn't ruin Kelly at all and hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**The next two parter chapter will be a completely original mission. Shadow returns, Miranda and Jacob defect and "The other Shepard" returns.**

**See you soon!**


	16. Chapter 16, Best Served Cold, Part 1

**Okay, this one ended up being so long that I've had to make it into two parts. Part two still isn't finished yet i'm afraid, but I am working on it and I hope to have it uploaded by the end of this week. In the meantime, please do enjoy this chapter. I spent a lot effort on this.**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**Best Served Cold, Part 1**

Sure enough, both and Liara had spent the whole of yesterday making love and getting Austin to recover from the hangover he had had. True enough to what both of them had expected, it had probably been the best sex they'd had yet in their relationship.

Eventually, Austin had decided to confide in Liara about the dream he'd had about Kelly. Liara had been very surprised at first and had even been a tiny bit concerned at first. Austin however had explained that it had most likely been a combination of may things that had caused the dream.

For one, he had just had a meal with Kelly the day before so that was a primary contributing factor. Also, Austin had admitted to Liara that Brandy did often give him funny dreams since it messed with his brain. Up until now though, he had never had a dream like that before. Although to be fair, he had also been out for several hours because of the sleeping gas as well, so that may have also contributed to it.

To Austin's surprise, Liara had actually found the story a bit funny, and slightly interesting. Especially since she reckoned that her… ministrations on him in the night had been a primary cause of his erotic dream.

This had surprised Austin, but he was thankful at least that Liara hadn't at all accused him of being unfaithful to her. In fact, when he had even told her that the special Helldiver implants that he had in his head which where linked into his omni tool had recorded the whole dream very clearly, she had even asked to see it.

This had shocked Austin mightily and he had even promised Liara multiple times that he loved her and only her, but Liara had calmed him and said that she wasn't angry at him at all. So, the next few hours of the night had been spent watching the whole recording together. Like Austin, Liara doubted that she'd be able to look at their Yeoman again after seeing how sexual she was, especially with him. She had even laughed hysterically at the bit where Kelly had brought the camera in and had even found the scene very arousing. It hadn't taken long for the two lovers to eventually give in to how horny they'd become from watching the recording and they'd both started pleasuring each other as they watched Austin fuck Kelly nearly everywhere.

Once they'd both brought each other to an orgasm, Austin still felt as though he owed Liara an apology and had even swore on his own life that he'd only ever Liara and would never cheat on her. Once again though, Liara told him that she was not angry at him at all and did not think that he was unfaithful to her at all since she admitted that she had once had a dream very similar to his a year or so ago after Austin had been killed by the Collector's. She'd been heartbroken and depressed and had ended up drinking a whole bottle of Ice Brandy. Her dream had included him in it, but it had also included an Asari she'd become acquitted with only yesterday. After hearing that from Liara, Austin now understood and all his worry disappeared. In fact Liara had even managed to make him hard again by explaining the dream to him fully, and in very explicit detail.

By the end of today, Austin's hangover had almost disappeared and he reckoned that another good night's sleep would take care of the rest. At that, Liara had simply smiled and once again initiated a Union with him. With her now properly inside his head, the two had a perfect dream with each other walking on a beach hand in hand. Shortly afterwards they'd both went for swim in the sea and then Austin had carried Liara back onto the sand and they'd both made love. The sex after that was… well, let's just say that it put even Kelly's dream made porn movie with Austin to shame.

Both Austin and Liara slowly woke from their slumber and Austin stretched.

"What made you think up a beach?" Austin asked as Liara sat up in the bed, not caring whether the quilt cover slipped off and exposed her breasts.

"I don't know, I guess it just came to me." Liara smiled as she gave a small yawn. "How's your head?"

"Fine. Hangover's completely gone." Austin smiled as he gave Liara a kiss. "Thanks for all of yesterday. That day is going to stick with me for a very long time."

"Anything for you, my love." Liara smiled as she returned Austin's kiss.

At that moment, there was knock at the door. Both Austin and Liara turned in surprise to the sound. Austin ultimately told Liara to just say in bed while he pulled on his boxers and some trousers and went to answer the door. It was Kelly. Austin did jump a bit when he saw her. After the dream and both him and Liara pleasuring each other to watching her, it was a bit uncomfortable to be around her. Austin however, kept a straight face and acted normally.

"Morning, Kelly." He smiled warmly.

"Good morning, Major. How are you feeling? I heard about what happened the day before." Said Kelly.

"I feel fine, thanks. Nothing a little rest doesn't fix." Austin replied. "So, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"The Arkane Council wish to speak to you. They say that it's priority 1 urgent." Said Kelly.

"Hmm, that sounds serious. Okay, I'll be down in a few minutes. Just let me get dressed." He said.

Kelly nodded and left for the elevator as the doors closed and Austin and Liara set about getting dressed. After yesterday, both of them where looking forward to a bit of action again.

* * *

The holograms of the Arkane Council stood in front of Austin yet again. This time, they looked as though they where concerned or worried about something. Austin couldn't help but feel that what they had to say would not be good.

"Major, we apologise for calling you like this on such short notice, but this is urgent." Said Spartan.

"What's the situation?" Austin asked.

"We've recently intercepted a transmission from an Alliance team. According to what we've been told, they where sent to the ice planet Krelldoor to investigate reports of a Cerberus base there. Just recently though we intercepted a leaked transmission between Cerberus agents subjecting that these reports where willingly leaked. There's a high chance that this whole ting is a trap for them." Tarnack explained.

"Why tell me this, though?" Austin asked. "I thought we weren't on good terms with the Alliance?"

"We're not. The only reason we're taking this seriously is because it… concerns your sister." Said Spartan.

Austin immediately reacted when he heard the word sister. His sister!

"Sarah? What's she got to do with this?" Austin asked.

"She's leading the team. She's still with the N7 program, promoted to Commander now we believe. She's been put in charge of the team and is handling the operation. What worries us even more is that another leaked transmission we intercepted from Cerberus mentioned her by name." said one of the Arkanes.

"Some of us fear that Cerberus have planned this. They may be going after her to get to you just like Shadow went after Chief Williams to lure you to her." Said Tarnack.

"Do we know if Shadow's behind this? Because this definitely does sound like her work." Austin asked.

"Unknown. But you could very well be right. If she's back again, it can only mean trouble. Taking down the Collector's may be our top priority, but Sarah Shepard is a fine soldier. She even helped you defeat Saren at the Citadel two years ago and has even worked with your squad a few times. We'd hate to lose such a fine ally." Said Spartan.

Some of the Council agreed and nodded their approval.

"Send me the coordinates. We'll be there in no time." Said Austin.

"Be careful, Major. There's every high chance this is a trap." Spartan advised.

* * *

Krelldoor was deep inside the so called Element cluster. It was named that because each planet inside that cluster was all one different element. Krelldoor was an ice planet, Hydro was a water planet with one extremely small island, Scorch was a fire and lava planet, Dune was a desert planet, and even the planet Conifer was all jungle.

As the Normandy cleared the Mass Relay, Austin saw the each massive planet orbiting the cluster's sun. It was a colourful display.

"Well, there's Krelldoor." Said Joker.

"I pick up no Cerberus transmissions, or transmissions of any kind in the area." Said EDI.

"Launch a probe on the surface. See if it picks up anything." Said Austin.

EDI did so and a probe launched from the Normandy and into Krelldoor's atmosphere. There was a brief pause while it scanned.

"Scans are coming in now. They show…" said EDI, but she was quickly interrupted when the Normandy suddenly shook violently and there was a small explosion.

"What the hell?!" said Joker.

As Austin regained his balance he could see a ship out of the cockpit of the Normandy. At first, it looked like a small fighter. But as it got closer, the ship was more like a small vessel. And when it got really close, both Austin and Joker's eyes turned to shock.

There, right outside the Normandy… was another Normandy. It was completely identical and size and design to the one they where piloting right now. The only difference was that it had Cerberus colourings instead of Helldiver.

"It can't be!" Joker managed to say.

The Cerberus Normandy fired another shot and that was enough to snap Joker out of his shock.

"Taking evasive manoeuvres! Everyone hold on!" he said.

The Normandy made a sharp rotation to the left, Austin quickly held on to a nearby railing.

A vicious dogfight occurred as both Normandy's tried to outwit one another. The Cerberus Normandy had better firepower, but Joker was definitely the better pilot. The ship shook again as the Cerberus Normandy managed another hit.

"We can't evade this guy forever, EDI! Isn't there anything you have that could give us an advantage?!" said Joker as the ship shook again.

"There may be something. The way that ship is flying would suggest that it is an AI pilot." Said EDI.

"An AI pilot? Cerberus seems far to desperate to get rid of us." Said Austin.

"We're gonna have to head into the ice ring fields!" said Joker as he steered the Normandy towards the large asteroid fields of ice orbiting Krelldoor.

"Mr Moreau, the odds of successfully navigating these fields are approximately 720 to 1." Said EDI urgently.

"Never tell me the odds!" said Joker confidently.

The constant movements and collisions of the ice made it extremely difficult to manoeuvre properly. Even Joker did look nervous by this. Austin could even see him sweating a bit. The Cerberus ship also appeared to be struggling as well. Despite this though, it was still keeping up with them. It fired another shot which managed to land a dangerously critical hit on the Normandy.

"The shields are down to 10%! One more hit on rear and the armour won't be able to hold!" said EDI urgently.

"Dell, get those auto turrets online!" Austin yelled into his comm.

Dell didn't reply, but the auto turrets seemed to come on and started firing on the Cerberus Normandy. The enemy ship however returned fire and the whole chase once again turned into an intense dog fight. There was ice shattering everywhere as some of the shots missed their target and instead damaged the ice asteroids.

After what felt like several long minutes, a single massive asteroid could be seen out of the cockpit. It was slowly descending to collide with another one, and the gap was getting smaller and smaller. Despite this though, Joker kept going.

"Joker, what are you doing?! Pull up!" said Austin, realizing that the pilot was going straight for the gap.

"It's the only way!" said Joker.

The ship continued on it's course at full speed. The gap was getting very small now and didn't look big enough for the large Normandy, or both in this case.

"The gaps' too thin, Mr Moreau!" said EDI.

"Shut up!" Joker yelled.

The gap got smaller and smaller. With some dumb stroke of luck, the Normandy flew right through the gap without even a scratch. The Cerberus Normandy would have also made it through, but the AI pilot failed to react in time to make the correct turn and one of it's engines collided with ice.

There was a massive explosion as the engine exploded on contact. The hull of the Cerberus Normandy was catapulted at vey high speed away through the rest of the gap as the asteroid collided with the other and the whole area became showered with massive ice shards and smaller asteroids.

It seemed as though they'd won as the Normandy spun several times to avoid all the shards that where heading at them at an even faster speed. However, they failed to notice the damaged hull of the Cerberus Normandy in time.

"Look out!" Austin yelled.

But it was too late. The Cerberus Normandy collided very hard with the Helldiver Normandy. Their Normandy's kinetic barriers where fortunately still active and they had been designed for an impact of this size, so they weren't blown up. But the shear size was still enough to knock the Normandy as the Cerberus ship was sent plummeting into the atmosphere of the Ice planet below them.

"The controls aren't responding! EDI, do something!" Joker said urgently as he fumbled desperately with the holographic controls.

There was no reply. The impact had even disabled EDI's systems.

"All crew, brace for impact! This won't be pretty!" said Austin into the ship comm.

The cockpit became engulfed by a lot of fire as they entered Krelldoor's atmosphere. The ship then gave a violent shake and Austin felt his helmet collide very hard with something and his vision went black.

* * *

Austin groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. His suit's visual feed quickly came back online and his suit once again went through the process of turning his lockdown off. Despite that his visual feed was fine, all he could see nothing but blackness.

As the Helldiver slowly stood up, there was a spark and the emergency lighting came on. It was faint, but at least Austin could see a bit.

"Major, you okay?" Austin heard Joker ask.

"Yeah. I'm alright." Austin groaned. He only had a small headache. Nothing that was gonna hold him back. He then looked to where EDI's avatar should have been. "EDI, can you hear us?"

There was a very long silence as they waited to see if the AI would reply. Austin just about to ask Joker to check her systems but then EDI's avatar came back to life. The bright blue light from the hologram illuminated a lot more of the cockpit than the emergency lighting did.

"Yes, I can hear you, Shepard." She said.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"My systems are intact, so I would probably qualify as fine." The AI replied.

"Okay, first things first. What the hell was that?!" said Joker.

"I can only think that it was the Normandy was building when they where working to bring Shepard back to life. They had assumed that he would work for them and had planned to fund his mission, including building another version of the Normandy. The only reason it looked exactly the same as ours is that Cerberus managed to steal the designs." EDI replied.

"Well, however they did it, what matters is what condition we're in. What's the damage?" Austin asked. "Most importantly, is the heating still on? Because if it's not, Krelldoor's atmosphere will freeze us to death."

"The life support systems and all the other critical systems are still operating. Our engine systems and several others however overloaded during the crash. They are all fixable, but it will take time." Said EDI.

"How much time?" Austin asked, braced for bad news.

"At least 4 hours. Beyond that, I do not know for certain how long it will take." Said EDI.

Austin was silent for a while. Of all the places to crash to crash a ship in this star cluster, Krelldoor was one of the worst. Although there where the occasional research facilities that had been posted on the planets, each one of them was largely uncharted. Each environment was so dangerous that it had claimed the lives of hundreds of exploration teams who had attempted to shed some light on the blank maps. Krelldoor however was the worst out of all of them. The atmosphere outside was twice as cold as the North and South poles of earth combined. Worse still, they had crashed on Krelldoor's dark side.

Each planet inside the Element cluster had a sun which gave light to the planets. And, like every other planet, they had their rotations around the sun and their rotational axis which enabled them to have days and night cycles. An interesting difference however was that these rotations where vastly different from that of normal planets. The planets rotated to have day and night, but they did not have the rotations that could cause seasons and weather changes. As a result of this, each planet in the element cluster had a certain part of it that was always left in the dark and never had any sunlight at all. Not even the planet's moons shone on these parts. Because each planet had them, they where all called dark sides. Due to eternal lack of sunlight, these areas where almost completely lifeless, even on a cellular level. How many people had journeyed into these regions… fewer had returned, most without their sanity.

A thought then hit Austin. The dark sides where ideal places for enemies to hide since it was impossible to anything. Even an earthen satellite would be blind trying to find something in the blackness. Krelldoor in particular had it's hostile atmosphere to boot and there was a storm nearly all the time. With zero visibility and a very low chance of being found by accident by an expedition, how could Cerberus resist.

Austin turned back to EDI.

"Have we managed to get a fix on the Alliance signal?" he asked.

"The scans from the probe where able to get a firm lock on the location from the signal and some communications from the Cerberus Normandy before we destroyed it." EDI replied.

"It is definitely destroyed, isn't it? This ship is the one and the only." Joker asked.

"They crash landed within range of the probe. The ship was completely destroyed. No survivors." Said EDI.

"Good." Said Joker.

"How far is the signal source from where we are? It has to have been sent from the base." Austin asked.

"It is roughly 14 miles from our present location." EDI replied. As she did, her avatar projected a small holographic map of the whole dark side area showing the location of the Normandy and the signal source. At that moment, Griffin came up to the flight deck.

"Major, you alright?" he asked.

"I'm okay. What happened to you?" Austin asked when he saw Griffin's condition.

The whole of Griffin's front was blackened and scorched. Austin guessed that something had gone wrong with his explosives. It wouldn't be the first time they had blown up in his face.

"I was making some more demolition charges when the attack hit. I put them away in my bag, but the crash knocked them out. Some of them… well, I think you can probably see." Griffin replied, slightly embarrassed.

Austin wanted to say something but ultimately decided not to. It wasn't necessarily Griffin's fault. He had after all stored them in his bag so that they wouldn't cause harm. If the ship hadn't crashed, they wouldn't have blown up in his face. He imagined that Dell had most likely said "I told you so." The Arkane had been concerned about the danger of Griffin making his explosives in the cargo bay.

"But you're okay?" Austin asked with a bit of concern.

Griffin nodded. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me, it happens all the time. Although, Dell nearly hit me on the head with a spanner. He wasn't too happy that this happened. He was also a bit angry that one of the charges blew his desk in half, and I may have damaged the simulator a bit."

Austin just sighed. "You really need to be more careful with those things, Griffin. It's gonna get you killed if you're carless." He said.

"Or worse, get someone else killed." Said Griffin.

"Anyway, was anyone hurt during the crash?" Austin asked.

The demolition expert shook his head.

"No. Just a few bruises and some damaged equipment, but nothing major." He said.

Austin breathed a small sigh of relief.

"So what now? Do we continue with the mission?" Griffin asked.

"The ship can be repaired, but we can't wait. Especially if those Alliance marines need aid." Said Austin.

"But how are we going to get there? There's no way the shuttles can fly in conditions like these." Said Griffin.

"The old fashioned way… we walk." Austin replied.

Griffin didn't say anything for a minute. He went to say something, but Joker beat him too it.

"Are you nuts? It's at least 100 below out there!" said Joker.

"Normal people might not survive, but we may be okay." Said Austin. He then turned to Griffin. " Check the planet conditions." He said.

Griffin nodded and went over to one of the nearby consoles in the cockpit. Joker realised which one.

"Wait, not that one! I need to…" he tried to say, but Griffin didn't listen. The demolition expert was a bit shocked when he saw that Joker had left his extranet page open. Especially since it was on the Fornax website with quite a few tabs open.

"Blimey!" said Griffin. He gave Joker a unimpressed but shocked expression from under his skull faced helmet. "Get a girlfriend, Jeff!" he added.

The Helldiver closed the site and used the console to analyse Krelldoor's current condition. There was a minute or so wait before Austin joined him.

"So?" he asked.

"Well, the temperature's far too low for the crew, but with an extra heating unit and another de-icer, we may be okay." Said Griffin.

"I'm sure Dell can oblige." Said Austin. "What about walking distance?"

"3 hours, and that's at maximum. There's a storm on at the minute, and that will really slow us down." Said Griffin. "Worse still, we're gonna be rather blind out there. There's no light at all out there and this whole side of the planet's facing away from the sun. Sun won't be on this side at all for hours."

"Well, we don't have much choice. Besides, we've been trained to handle conditions like these. Tell Alpha Squad to assemble in the cargo hold and get Dell and Sill to work on the upgrades." Said Austin.

Griffin nodded and turned to go, but Austin quickly stopped him.

"Also, tell Dell to outfit X-5 for the snow. We're taking him as well." The Major added.

Griffin nodded. Just before he left though, he turned to Joker.

"Word of advice; Delete your extranet history." He said, much to Joker's embarrassment.

* * *

The cargo hold was quite a mess. The crash had knocked over all the crates, the simulator looked as though it had broken one of it's arms and Dell's desk was covered completely in loads of damaged contraptions.

Sure enough, all of Alpha Squad where assembled here. They where currently making sure that their armour was sealed properly. If Krelldoor's atmosphere got in through a leak, they could risk instant frost bite… or worse. They where also adding a few extra accessories to their armour and also some extra armour plating. On close inspection, Austin saw that these where extra heating units and also the de-icers he'd requested. Dell and Sill worked fast. In fact all the Helldivers looked ready and the two Arkane engineers where currently making the proper modifications to X-5 by fitting him with twice as many heating units and de-icers so that he could function properly in the sub zero temperatures without his circuits or limbs freezing up. Dell was also giving him a system upgrade. The robot after all would be their guide. The Helldiver suits didn't have the range to lock on to the signal properly, but X-5 did. He would lead the group and make sure that they kept heading the right way and didn't get lost, especially since that was very easy to do on a planet with conditions like this.

Austin finished fitting the last heating unit onto his armour and readied for what was to come. He made sure that he had everyone's attention as he spoke.

"Listen up, everyone! Krelldoor is one of the most isolated and dangerous planet's in the element cluster, and possibly the galaxy. You've been trained for conditions like these, but that does not mean this is going to be a walk in the park for us. As a result, I'm laying down these simple rules." He said.

All of Alpha Squad made sure to pay attention to this bit. The last thing they wanted was to disobey their leader, especially since the slightest slip up would land them literally in a world of trouble.

"1. Never separate or stray from the group under any circumstances. If you get separated out there, we may never be able to find you. 2. Maintain constant communication with each other. If anything happens out of the ordinary, you report it immediately! Watch your suit temperatures as well and make sure that they stay at a comfortable and warm temperature. 3. Unexpected things are bound to happen. When they do, no on tries to be a hero." He said.

"Yeah. That's his job." Said Dash enthusiastically as he indicated to Austin.

All of Alpha Squad laughed slightly and even Austin smiled a bit.

"Laugh it up, Dash." He chuckled. He did admire the Scout's attempt to lighten the mood a bit.

"Now, if you have anything that needs doing before this, do it now! It's gonna be a hell of a long walk. You have five minutes!" said Austin.

Some of Alpha Squad took this time to make sure that they had checked everything fully.

The Major then walked up to X-5 who was running a full system check to be sure that he was ready for the freezing cold.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Good to go, Major." X-5 replied

"Just be careful out there, Shepard. There's no telling what you'll find." Said Sill.

"I appreciate your concern, Sill. But we'll be fine. If your dad built these suits anywhere near as they say, this should just be a very long walk." Said Austin.

Dell simply cleared his throat. He was a bit nervous about this. Helldiver suits where designed for operating in sub zero temperatures and in the snow, but they had never been tested in an atmosphere like Krelldoor. He did try to relax though. All of Alpha Squad had taken every precaution to make sure they didn't get frozen after all. There was very little that could go wrong and a very rare chance of the more likely things going wrong.

With everyone ready, Alpha Squad stood in front of the cargo bay doors, ready to disembark into the cold vastness.

"Clear the cargo bay!" Austin yelled.

Everyone else immediately did so and the hanger bay was soon empty of everyone but them.

"We're ready to disembark, Joker. Open the cargo bay doors." Austin said into his comm.

"Aye aye, Major. Good luck." Said Joker.

"Be careful, Shepard. Come back alive." Said EDI.

There was a slow grind as the cargo bay door slowly lowered itself. Almost immediately, wind, snow and an absolutely massive amount of cold air entered the cargo bay. Alpha Squad immediately felt the temperature outside of their suits drop completely. The cargo bay door finally hit the ground and Alpha Squad slowly made their way out into the snow. All that could be seen was nothing but blackness. They could only see the Normandy's hull because of thee lights on the outside and inside. Their visibility had turned to zero immediately and they couldn't see anything, not even their own hands.

In an attempt to try and illuminate the path ahead a bit more, all of the Helldivers activated the lights attached to their armour. For this particular mission they'd swapped their usual flashlights for very powerful spotlights. The spot lights did at least make things bit easier and they could now see each other, but only just. Plus, the spotlights only managed to illuminate about 4 metres of the path ahead. Even with all the spotlights on, including X-5's, they could hardly see anything. The only other thing that was visible apart from themselves, was the ground and the snow being blown about everywhere. The wind didn't help either as it kept blowing in their direction and their helmets kept getting covered with snow. The heat from the suits and the de-icers quickly melted the snow, but the clearness was only brief before more snow blinded their visual feed.

"I can't see a goddamn thing!" said Sandra as she tried to wipe away the snow that was collecting on her helmet.

"It's worse for Cerberus than it is for us." Said Austin.

The wind and the snow made it impossible for Alpha Squad to hear each others voices, so the had to use their inter comms to talk to one another. It wasn't a bad thing. They had often done this before on other missions. It also allowed them to communicate to one another without the enemy hearing them.

Austin turned to look back at the Normandy. He could see Joker waving to them from the cockpit.

"We're clear of the Normandy. Close the doors." Said Austin.

Joker nodded from inside the cockpit and the cargo bay doors raised themselves back up. The huge amount of light that had been emanating from the cargo bay slowly disappeared until the door had completely shut.

All they could see of the Normandy now was the cock pit. Joker simply nodded to Alpha Squad.

"Alright, everyone move out. X-5 will lead the way. Stick close to him, we don't want to get separated out here." Said Austin.

"Twenty bucks says that at some point during this mission, you're gonna be hiding behind him." Said Kraan to Dash.

"Hell, if it draws fire, great! Just means I won't have to shoot it myself." Said Dash,.

"That's enough!" said Austin sternly.

The whole squad set a steady pace through the darkness for two hours. If it weren't for the storm they would've been there by now. But the shear force of the wind, and the snow blinding their visors every second was really slowing them down. Even with all the enhancements that their suits gave them, the Helldivers where still met with a lot of resistance from the wind. In fact, the wind so strong that Dash almost got blown over due to his armour being the lightest and therefore the easiest to push.

"I'm cold, and I can't see a goddamn thing." Sandra repeated from earlier.

"Quite gryping, Sandra!" said Ventra.

"I like gryping." Sandra replied.

"Knock it off you two!" said Austin.

He didn't blame some of Alpha Squad for arguing with one another. Cold temperatures like these often did things to people. Nature could be lethal when need be.

Another hour or so passed as the Helldiver's made their way very slowly through the dark snow. It was a tiny bit scary being able to only see as far as the spotlights would allow. Some of Alpha Squad had even tired uses different visions modes, but even night vision made no difference at all. Thermal vision however had been a small laugh when Ventra had joked that Leena looked very hot in that mode. The Quarian Helldiver had said it was only the thermals, to which everyone had laughed. Even Leena had also laughed after realising what she'd said.

The pace was slow, but the mood slowly brightened as Alpha Squad spent the time by chatting to one another. Griffin in particular did his best to keep the conversation up. The conversation eventually turned into stories as Alpha Squad started filling the time with their back stories. Griffin listened intently to this. He had only worked with Alpha Squad for a year after all while the rest of the Helldivers had all worked alongside one another for at least five years. Austin was happy to see Griffin chatting and laughing with everyone as though he'd known them all his life. The demolition expert was settling in very well.

Finally, after 3 whole hours of wandering through the snow, they could see something the distance. Light! It was very, very far off, but light all the same.

"Looks like we're here. Everyone keep your heads down stay cloaked." Said Austin as he and Alpha Squad crouched down, their cloaks activating as they did so. You too, X-5." said Austin as he turned to the robot.

X-5 did so and vanished with everyone else. The next few metres where taken at a slow pace as the group got closer to the complex undetected. As they got closer, they found that it was actually a camp of some sorts. Austin guessed however that most of the facility was below the snow and ice rather than on it. There was one single large building which looked like the entrance and it was surrounded by several small bunkers. A bit like the houses on Horizon and human colonies in fact, only with windows to keep the cold out. There where several large spotlights to illuminate the area and also quite a lot of Cerberus troopers on patrol. They too had exosuits to protect them from the cold temperatures.

The snow and the storm made it all the more easier to sneak in close enough. Finally, Alpha Squad took cover behind one of the bunkers. Austin took a small sensor from his belt and threw it into the centre of the camp. Within seconds, a small pulse emitted from it and all the Cerberus troopers where shown on the Helldiver's HUDs.

"No way we can get through without being spotted." Said Alaara. "Too many Cerberus troopers."

"Deal with them. Nice and quietly." Said Austin.

* * *

The wind howled fiercely as the Cerberus sentry stood guard. He didn't really see much point in standing guard. Who would find them out here? This was the most hostile, isolated and dangerous places in the world. Still, that didn't change anything. He'd signed on to this job and was getting paid for it, he might as well do it. Besides, it wasn't like he was being asked to do anything unreasonable, all he had to do was just stand outside until the next guard came to do his shift. Then he'd be able to go inside the nice warm huts and either have a warm meal or catch some much needed sleep which he was actually very desperate for. One of the sentries had been stupid enough to not check his armour seals properly and had even fallen through the ice into freezing cold water which had given him a major frost bite. Unable to do his shift, the current sentry had to do it for him.

The fierce wind and heavy snow got even worse as the storm increased a bit more. What the sentry wouldn't give now to have a fire out here right now like the others had indoors right now. Unfortunately, the storm was far too windy to have or even start a fire.

As the storm reached the absolute worst he'd seen on Krelldoor in all his time here, he started contemplated just saying "fuck it all" and go inside until it was his shift that he was meant to be doing. Before he made his mind up however he started to hear something. It sounded like movement of some sort. It startled him at first, it was probably just a small rock or something. However, several seconds passed and the sound didn't stop. This slowly began to worry the sentry. He and all the others had already had the run in with that Alliance squad that had according to what he'd been told had been lured here to lure a Helldiver squad here as well.

It did suddenly occur to him that he had been told to keep an eye out for any silhouettes in the snow since this could be the Helldivers cloaked. Then the sound started to get slightly louder, the wind also started sounding as though something was distorting it, and then there came the unmistakable sound of footsteps.

The sentry raised his gun very slowly as the noise slowly started to surround him. It now seemed to echo all around him.

"Guys, whoever's doing that, stop it! It's not funny anymore!" the Sentry shouted into the wind.

The sound however did not stop and just kept growing louder and louder. He looked around aimlessly for any sign that there was someone else other than Cerberus out there. Nothing but snow, the spotlights, and endless darkness.

As the sentry stopped turning however, he found himself looking at something. A silhouette of some kind. It almost looked camouflaged. Before he could see anything more or react in time, the silhouette lunged at him and everything went dark as the Sentry felt a blade impale him in the heart.

* * *

Several more sentries where currently huddled around a small fire that was heating a large saucepan of water that they where going to use for making some warm cups of tea or coffee. Unfortunately, the heating in the bunkers and the normal cooking facilities had been damaged when the Alliance squad had attacked. They would need to remember to get some technicians up from the underground base to fix them. As they waited for the saucepan to reach the right temperature, the door was suddenly flung open.

All of the sentries immediately got to their feet and pointed their guns at the door. They tried desperately to see who had opened the door, but their was no one there. To try and see better all the troopers activated their lasers. Still they could see nothing but the dark snow storm outside.

Then they suddenly seemed to notice the laser dots as they where being shone onto something. Only too late did they notice the three silhouettes inside the bunker with them before they heard the sound of a blade, or a sword, being unsheathed.

Before any of them could react, one of them was suddenly thrown by an unseen force right into the wall. He went completely motionless as he did. Almost as thought he'd been impaled there by something.

The other two Cerberus troopers looked around aimlessly for their attackers, but still nothing.

Then the next one was picked off as the long blade of a sword was suddenly stabbed right through his chest, spraying large amounts of blood everywhere.

The last sentry panicked and just simply fired everywhere, hoping he would somehow hit his attacker. This tactic however was short lived as he heard a twang of released string and he to was suddenly flung right into the far wall by nothing at all. As his back collided with the wall very hard, he felt a severe amount of pain in chest and looked down. For a moment, there was nothing there. He slowly moved his hands to where it hurt and tried to feel. He felt his suited hands touch something.

Then came the sound of an electrical buzz of some kind and very slowly, an arrow of some kind slowly appeared out of thin air. Slowly but surely, it seemed to de-cloak outwards from his body, almost as though it was growing out of him. Finally, the sound stopped and the arrow was fully uncloaked. Seeing now that he had a massive arrow sticking out of his chest, the soldier went limp on the wall and simply lay there almost like a trophy hung up on a wall.

The invisible forms of the Cerberus attackers slowly moved the dead bodies out of eye range so that no one would find them by accident. This however did not work right when one more sentry suddenly appeared in the door way.

"Guys? What's with all the noise?" he asked.

He only briefly saw the already frozen blood on the floor before he hard the loud noises of screams of pain over the loud noises of the wind. As he quickly turned back to the sight inside the bunker he saw the silhouette of an invisible figure brandishing a blade dripping with still warm, red, human blood.

Acting immediately on instinct, the Cerberus trooper bolted the door shut as he ran for it. Just as he bolted the door shut however, another arrow suddenly punctured it's way right through the door. As it shot through, it tore right through the trooper's suit and also ripped off a rather large chunk of his skin. The trooper grunted loudly in pain as the arrow scarred his arm and he immediately felt the killing cold temperatures of Krelldoor on his skin. Clamping his hand over the tear on his arm, the soldier ran for it, daring not to look back as he heard a loud smash behind him.

The trooper ran for the next nearest bunker he could see. He was so frightened that he didn't even notice that the door on this had been forced open as well. He suddenly felt his foot slide as he slipped on the still unfrozen blood of his dead comrades. He was left briefly petrified by the sight of the bodies. He quickly regained his composure however as he spotted another camouflaged silhouette heading in his direction.

The sentry tried to run, but the wet blood on his foot kept making him slip and he tripped on the dead bodies several times. The massive figure toward over him as the soldier tried to crawl to safety. As the figure slowly reached for him, he desperately tried to kick the figure's arm away. In his haste, he kicked the saucepan that was on the fire. The pan full of water went flying, spraying the figure with unfrozen water and the Helldiver's cloak malfunctioned.

The Cerberus soldier looked in astonishment as Kraan seemed to materialize out of nowhere right in front of him. The Krogan looked at himself briefly as his cloak malfunctioned and the Cerberus trooper finally managed to get back on his feet. Kraan roared at the trooper challengingly before the soldier sensed another presence behind him. He whirled around to find another cloaked Helldiver right behind him. He pointed his gun, but the cloaked Helldiver grabbed his wrist and gave it a violent twist, breaking the bones in his arms.

The cloaked Helldiver then gave the soldier a violent punch which smashed him right through the wall of the bunker and out into the cold again. In the distance was the very edge of a cliff. As the Cerberus trooper slowly picked himself up from the small wreckage, the cloaked Helldiver hopped out of the hole he'd just made and landed right in front of the trooper.

The Helldiver reached down and threw away a large bit of debris so that he now had complete access to the Cerberus trooper. The trooper however counteracted by grabbing another large piece of debris and swung it at the Helldiver. Despite swinging as hard as he could however, the debris simply smashed to pieces as it hit the Helldiver's armoured arm.

The cloaked Helldiver immediately returned the attack with a very fast but strong kick which sent the trooper flying. This time however, the trooper was sent right in the direction of the cliff's edge. The trooper struggled violently to slow himself down but he had nothing to grab onto due to the smooth snow and ice. He tried even using the ice pick on his belt but it simply wouldn't dig in. All it did was just go right into the snow and not grab onto anything. The trooper kept trying harder and harder, but still nothing. Before he knew it, he felt his entire body leave the ground and he could only scream as he flew right over the edge and plummeted down into the pitch black abyss.

* * *

Austin stood over the edge as he watched the Cerberus trooper disappear into the darkness. With the whole camp now clear of all the Cerberus troopers, he deactivated his cloak and the rest of Alpha Squad also uncloaked behind him.

He turned to face Kraan who was still sparking a bit.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Idiot threw some water on me. My cloak shorted out." Kraan replied.

Austin walked up to Kraan and gave the Krogan a quick scan.

"Should be okay in a few minutes. The water will turn to ice very quickly in this weather." He said.

"So what next? We've got many different ways of approaching this." Said Alaara as she indicated to the base.

"We could just blow the doors off." Griffin suggested.

It seemed however that none of Alpha Squad had forgotten about what happened on the Purgatory.

"And have you set off all the alarms again? No!" said Dash.

At that moment, X-5 came out from behind one of the bunkers and joined them.

"I think we just go in stealthily. We still have the element of surprise after all, unless we go with X-5's approach." Said Alaara.

There was a slight murmur among the Helldivers that X-5 didn't understand.

"Yeah, barging in, face first, guns blazing and getting your friend shot in the ass!" said Ventra.

"Alright, that's enough!" he said.

Everyone fell silent as he said it. All that could be heard now was the wind and the storm until Austin spoke again.

"We do this by the book. We go again, find Sarah and the Alliance marines and get off this base without anyone seeing us." He said.

"And if Shadow's here?" Sandra asked concernedly.

"Leave that to me." Austin replied coldly.

Right at that moment however, they started to hear something. A rumbling sound of sorts. Then they started to hear the faint sound of what sounded like train. But that was impossible. Those sort of things hadn't been used for at least a hundred years.

This however was all cleared up when a large monorail train suddenly came into view. It was heading towards the facility at a steady pace. It was only now that Alpha Squad saw the long track rail going from the small base entrance far out into the darkness.

Austin didn't blame anyone for not seeing that earlier. The track was very thin, it was unlit and the snow and storm hid it from sight very well. As the cargo tram zoomed over their heads, Ventra activated his scanner's. The tram was slowly heading for a smaller bunker right next to the base entrance. The doors to this bunker where now open, emitting a faint but definitely noticeable light.

"Or we could just go in that way?" He suggested over the tram's loud noise.

"That would certainly be more sensible than trying to get the main doors open." Said Austin rather loudly so that everyone could hear him.

Just before they could grapple onto some of the cars however, Griffin suddenly shouted out to them.

"Guys, watch out!" he yelled, almost as though something was about to happen.

"What are you…" Dash was about to ask but he was quickly interrupted by what Griffin was trying to warn them about.

The demolition expert had spotted several Alliance demolition charges planted on the tram tracks in the distance. Before they'd been able to do anything though, the tram had already reached them and it was too late.

The whole front of the train exploded as it hit the charges. The train became dislodged from the tracks and the rest of the cars became violently derailed. Surprisingly, there where quite a lot of cars. But then again, this probably was a cargo tram so it made sense for it to have this many carriages. Right now however, that was the least of Alpha Squad's concerns as the force of the explosions sent some of them off their feet.

"Get clear! Run!" Austin yelled as he and the others ran to evade the other carriages as they fell violently from the tram and seemed to land everywhere. More explosions and wreckage littered the whole area.

This was starting to feel like something out of a disaster film as Austin just managed to jump away from a carriage that landed dangerously close to where he'd just been.

"I don't wanna die!" Dash yelled in a panicked voice as he ran.

More and more of the carriages on the tram tracks smashed into each other and then fell onto the snowy ground.

"Liara!" Austin yelled as he found himself separated from the others as two more carriages and a large piece of the tram track landed right in front of him, blocking his path.

He managed to stop just before he crashed into the debris by accident, but he then suddenly noticed a large crate that had landed in front of him. It was filled with several cylinder and rocket shaped objects, and it was partly on fire. One the side of the box it said "Warning: Explosives!"

Without even thinking, Austin turned and ran as fast as he could. The crate seemed to explode as he ran sending flying of his feet and he landed head first in the snow.

Austin dared not get up as thing started to quiet down again. The last of the tram had most likely come and derailed. Still, Austin simply lay there, a bit shaken by this and he also felt a bit too petrified to move. A sudden loud noise however quickly snapped him out of it. Austin looked up as he heard a loud bang in front of him.

Austin got up slowly and looked to where the bangs where coming from. As he did, one of the extremely bright spotlights on the base shone in his eyes and he struggled to see clearly. From what he could see however, one of the carriages had landed in front of him and it seemed to be shaking. Another loud bang came and the carriage shook again, this time even more. It was a s if there was something inside trying to get out.

Austin was about to do a scan, but at that moment the door on the carriage was suddenly catapulted into the air as another bang smashed it off. It flew up into the air and then landed very hard right next to Austin.

Austin simply stood there as he saw something very big crawl out of the carriage. The light was still shining in his eyes and he could only see the silhouette of what liked a massive creature of some sort. It looked almost spider like from the looks of it having more than just two arms and two legs. It's precise size was hard to tell, but from the looks of things at had to be at least 5 metres tall.

The silhouette merely stood where it was for a moment. Austin dared not move in case this thing hadn't seen him yet. The creature seemed to look in his direction for a moment and he seriously contemplated on running, but it then turned away and seemed to sniff the cold air. Austin could only dread to imagine what this thing was. Although he could only see the silhouette, it did not look alike any sort of creature he'd even seen before. The creature then reared it's head up and emitted a loud ear splitting roar which sounded very close to a scream. Once it had done so, the creature then looked in the other direction away from Austin and disappeared as it hopped down. Whatever that thing had been, it looked like it was gone. At least… for now.

* * *

Austin quickly found the others who also seemed a bit shaken from the experience. Dash in particular looked a bit dizzy with shock.

"You guys okay?" he asked.

"No significant damage." Said X-5.

"Okay, first things first… what the hell was that?!" said Ventra. "Accidents like these only ever happened with Earthen trains."

"It wasn't an accident. Someone put some Alliance demolition charges on the tracks." Said Griffin as he fished his minigun out of some of the wreckage.

"Why would the Alliance marines blow up the tram though?" said Dash, finally regaining his voice.

"Lot's of reasons. Most likely to cut off reinforcements." Said Liara.

"That was a cargo tram though. All the markings on the carriages denote cargo and supplies. Plus, my scans show no sign of any other life forms." Said Leena.

"You okay, Shepard? You look like you've seen a ghost." Sandra asked concernedly, noticing how Austin seemed rather quiet.

"I think I did." He replied.

"What?" said everyone.

"There was some sort of… creature in one of the carriages. I don't know what it was, but it was… big. I didn't really get a good look though, I only saw it's silhouette." Said Austin, trying to keep his nerve and trying to pull himself together and stop his minor shaking.

"Scans show nothing." Said X-5.

"Do you think there's a shipping manifest on this thing?" Ventra asked.

Leena nodded as she picked up a small datapad. It looked a bit damaged, but functional.

"According to this, they where bringing in cargo and supplies from the next base several miles from here." Said the Quarian. Before anyone could speak however, she continued. "But they had something else as well. Under special authority from the Illusive Man, secret cargo was also being moved here as well. It doesn't really say anything more than that, apart from something about, Experiment 13."

Everyone fell a bit silent. If the Illusive Man himself had ordered something to be transported here under extreme secrecy, it could not be good. Austin however pushed these thoughts aside and his thoughts turned back to the Alliance and his sister.

"We'd better get moving. We've still got a job to do." He said.

All of Alpha Squad nodded and they headed for the entrance they'd planned on originally. The small opening where the tram should've disappeared into was still open. If they where quick, they could get in before it closed.

* * *

It stood on top of a very large piece of debris. The small metal creatures that it could see moving below all had their backs turned, so it didn't need to worry about being seen. It was tempted to just attack here and there, being held as a prisoner inside that carriage for so long had made it very hungry. It watched patiently as the metal figures made their way through some kind of opening. As the creature moved a bit closer, being careful not to be seen or make any noise because of it's massive size, it could slowly feel the warmth and light coming from inside. A strong smell also started to come to the creatures nostrils, a smell that easily overpowered the current usual smells of smoke, fire, oil and the freezing cold air. Flesh and blood! The creatures hunger only seemed to grow as it could now smell some proper prey. It watched as the metal figures disappeared through the gap. It considered this for a moment. Would it be wise to go in there? For all it knew, this could just be another trap by those humans who had tortured and imprisoned it ever since it could remember its' first sight and smell from birth.

The contemplation however was interrupted when it saw that the large doors where slowly closing. Moving as quickly and quietly as it could, the creature ran at the entrance and managed to stealthily jump in without being spotted.

The creature gave a very comforting sigh as it felt warm air on it's skin again. Plus, the smell of food got even stronger. Soon it's hunger would be over. The creature gave a small growl as it set off to hunt for it's unsuspecting prey.

* * *

Sarah Jane Shepard was alone. Everyone tat she'd been with earlier had either been captured or killed. She was really regretting coming here now. This had all started when the Alliance had recently acquired intel saying that a Cerberus base was here. An Alliance team had been selected for this task, and as an N7 marine she'd been put in charge of them.

This mission however had gone to hell almost instantly. This whole thing had been a trap. From what Sarah had managed to learn, this was all a trap for a Helldiver team with her and the marines as bait. Sarah had done her best to fight them off, but all the remaining Alliance soldiers where either dead or currently a hostage.

Sarah was currently wondering cautiously through a corridor. From inside the N7 Death Mask that she wore, her breathing was calm but fast. She was sweating as well with nervousness and fright. Not only had she had failed the team she'd been put in charge of, but something else had happened. She hadn't seen what had happened, but from what she had heard, Cerberus wasn't the only danger in the base. Something had come out of the shadows and attacked the Cerberus troops. Sarah hadn't even dared look and had just run. She wasn't cowardly, but she had been in very poor condition to fight. In fact, her N7 Defender armour was rather damaged from several gunshot holes. Sarah herself though was okay.

A sudden bleeping sound however, made Sarah stop. She'd attached a motion tracker to her assault rifle and it was currently showing something was near. Sarah now slowed to a snail's pace as she slowly continued through the long corridor. As she continued moving however, the bleeping just seemed to get faster. Whatever was near her was getting closer, or she was getting closer to it.

She turned towards a nearby door and the beeping was now so fast that it was just a constant beep. Sarah was taking no chances with whoever this was. Just as she set up to breach however, the door was suddenly smashed open and Sarah found the door collided with her, sending her flying backwards.

As Sarah slowly got up, she looked to the doorway. Standing there was a figure. At first, Sarah couldn't tell because of a lot of smoke. But as it cleared, it revealed a female form clad in some sort of armour. White and black and a few other colours adorned certain parts of the armour. The helmet in particular however sent chills down Sarah's spin as she found herself looking at the helmet of a Cerberus Phantom. This Phantom however was unlike some of the ones that had attacked her and her team earlier though.

This Phantom had a dark grey armour that looked more larger and bulkier than the usual Phantom's who had more slimmer armour. The Phantom's right arm looked almost like a cybernetic arm. It reminded Sarah just a bit of her father, General Matt Shepard of the Helldivers. In addition to this, the Phantom had a battle dress of some kind around her legs, two large shoulder guards, and she also seemed to have a small pony tail of jet black hair sticking out from behind her helmet which oddly had one half of it's eye optics blue, and the other half red. The Helmet itself had a more slimmer design than the usual Phantoms and the eyes where different too. Rather than the design that a normal Phantom had, this one had a design that looked more death like. The Phantom also had two large curved blades of some kind on her back. Of course she also had the usual Phantom sword which was strapped in a holster on her right thigh. Also on the Phantom's back where three spears of some kind. They where decorated by some sort of necklaces with miniature skulls on it, and on the very ends of the spears where real human skulls. One of them even looked like it sill had some blood on it, and another even had it's spine attached. It was not a pretty sight.

The Phantom glared down at the N7 marine. Sarah didn't even stop to consider as she fired several shots at this new Phantom. The shots didn't even seem to have any effect on the Phantom's armour as she made her way over to Sarah. The Phantom's cyborg hand closed around Sarah's neck and threw her against the wall. As Sarah recovered from this blow, she noticed the Phantom walk up to here for another attack. Sarah didn't give he the chance however and she used the end of her rifle like a club and smashed the Phantom in the side of the head. Very shockingly however, this did not seem to even hurt the Phantom and she turned her head back in Sarah's direction.

Before the N7 marine could try again, the Phantom grabbed Sarah's neck again in her cyborg hand and grabbed the rifle with her other, throwing it away as she did do. Both opponents stared at each others masks for a moment before the Phantom seemed to move her head to the side slightly. Then there was a small faint mechanical sound as her helmet retracted, revealing the users scared face.

"You?!" said Sarah in surprise.

Sarah found herself staring into the face of a very old friend of hers. Tyranny Azula, known these days by the name, Shadow. The cybernetic upgrades from the Illusive Man had helped a great deal. The Phantom had never felt this powerful before. As had already been noticed by Sarah also, she had made a few upgrades to her armour. The cybernetics on her face however did show. They hadn't fully healed from the surgery and Shadow's fierce temper and violent attitude wasn't helping. In fact, the scars where glowing brightly with an evil red tint to them. Only Shadow's blue cybernetic eye stood out, but a few minor implants around her eye also glinted from the scars hadn't fully healed yet.

"Hello, old friend. You don't look to good." Said Shadow. Even her voice sounded all the more evil than ever.

"And you look like crap, Azula. What's happened to you?" said Sarah coldly.

Although the two women had been old school friends a very long time ago, that was passed. Worse, they had parted on very bad terms. To say that they where pleased to see one another would be an impossibly mild understatement.

"Your meddlesome brother, that's what!" said Shadow.

"You let your past haunt you, Azula. My brother's been dead for two years." Said Sarah, trying her best to still breath as the cyborg still kept her grip tightly around her throat.

"How little you know." Shadow grinned evilly. "And how little you will know before I kill you."

"Still angry about the night before break up? Nothing's changed! Cerberus is evil… and so are you!" said Sarah.

Shadow didn't say anything and simply looked at Sarah's death mask.

"You're very wrong, dear Sarah. Once again you put your keen and penetrative mind to the task, and as usual, it come to the wrong conclusion." Said Shadow. "Now if you'll excuse my hastiness, I have a score to settle with your brother."

Shadow then switched hands so that her human hand now gripped Sarah's neck while her cyborg hand was now free. The long metal claws slowly grew out of the mechanical fingers, still dripping with a bit of blood from her previous victim.

"Maybe… but not today!" said Sarah.

As Shadow lunged at her, Sarah pulled the trigger on the pistol she'd been holding in her left hand and had been pointing right at Shadow's stomach. It was a trick she'd learned well from her brother to offer one hand, but arm the other. A trick it seemed that Shadow had similarly employed as well, but didn't use in the same way.

Shadow gave a sharp and painful scream as the round managed to penetrate her new armour. She dropped Sarah and her left hand flung to the wound. As Sarah got to her feet however, she saw that it wasn't bleeding.

"A clever attempt. But ultimately pointless." Shadow smiled evilly as her helmet pieced itself back together over her head.

Sarah knew she couldn't possibly have any hope of fighting Shadow at all, so she did the only thing that would be best. She ran. Surprisingly, Shadow didn't run after her, just walked.

* * *

The N7 marine had no idea where she was going, nor did she really care, but she had to hide somewhere. As she ran down the stairs and threw a long corridor, she tried a nearby door to hide in, but that wouldn't open. Starting to panic now, Sarah pushed open some double doors. As she turned a corner however, what she saw next froze her right there.

In front of her was the unmistakable cloaked silhouette of a Helldiver. Normally this would've been good news for Sarah. But as the Helldiver uncloaked in front of her, she found herself staring at a very familiar sight. The Helldiver's armour was almost 100% identical to the armour that her brother once wore.

A few differences was that this ghost seemed to look like more… updated. Almost as though it where showing what her brother would look like where he still alive.

Sarah thought she was going mad as this ghost drew an M-76 Revenant from his back. He seemed to head towards her without even showing any emotion. Not wanting to find out whether this spirit came in peace or not, Sarah headed back through the doors that she'd come through earlier. She wished she hadn't however when she saw Shadow had now reached the bottom of the stairs in front of her. The Phantom's cybernetic arm folded open to reveal her mini plasma cannon which she pointed at Sarah. Sarah turned around only to find her brother's ghost blocking her path as well. He too seemed to have his weapon pointed at her. Was this really the end? Sarah just closed her eyes from behind her Death Mask and waited for the inevitable. However, what she heard next in place of an expected gunshot changed everything.

"Sarah, get down!"

Sarah's eyes shot open. Her brother's ghost had definitely said that and it was in his voice. Sarah didn't have much time to debate this though as she just trusted her instincts and ducked without even thinking.

As she hit the floor, there was a loud bang as the ghost fired his weapon. Sarah looked up slightly to see Shadow staggering backwards slightly. The round hadn't damaged her armour, but it had left a mark it seemed.

It then occurred to Sarah that what she had thought to be a ghost had just actually fired a real shot at Shadow. Was her mind playing tricks on her?

Her answer came in the form of her brother grabbing her and shielding her from Shadow's attacks as the Phantom recovered from being shot and fired her plasma cannon at them. Any thoughts of this being a ghost vanished from her head now. This was real. But how could it be? Her brother had been confirmed killed in action two years ago. And she really doubted that it had all been a cover up, even if it had, Austin would've still found a way of letting her and their parents know he was alive. He wasn't that sort of person, he'd never let anyone think for a moment he was dead if he wasn't really.

Question after question flooded Sarah's already confused mind as she felt plasma shot after plasma shot impact against the Helldiver's armour. It didn't even seem to be causing him pan and neither was it damaging him.

Then Shadow's plasma fire stopped suddenly. Her weapon had overheated. The Helldiver immediately reacted by smashing open a nearby door and pushing Sarah in.

"Stay here!" he said.

Once again, it sounded just like her brother. Could it really be him?

* * *

Austin turned back to Shadow. He had to admit he was taken aback slightly by Shadow's new attire. She just seemed even more villainous than ever now. The skulls just made things even worse.

Right now though, he was more concentrated on making sure that Sarah was safe. Once he'd dealt with Shadow, hopefully for the last time, he'd explain everything.

Shadow's wrist cannon finally cooled down and she resumed firing. Once again though, the plasma melted upon contact with his shields. Unlike Helldiver cannons, Shadow's was based off of the plans for the prototype which had been stolen after these ones had been discarded because they overheated. As a result, Shadow's plasma was far too weak to penetrate his shields or amour. Any other normal person, or an Alliance marine in Sarah's case would still be obliterated though.

As plasma shot after plasma shot kept melting harmlessly on his shields. Austin fired another shot from his Revenant. Shadow staggered once again as the heat sink hit her hard in the chest. Before Shadow had a chance to recover, Austin fired another one. He fired another one, and another, and another until finally the last one knocked Shadow onto her back. The neon lights on her armour flickered and seemed to go out. That at least meant she was down for now. But Austin knew Shadow too well, she was down but not out.

The Helldiver stood over the Phantom's motionless body as he took a thermal clip from his combat belt and inserted it into the Revenant. Sarah risked a glance out of the doorway to see Shadow's neon lights coming back. Before Austin could react in time, Shadow got back up and her feet and grabbed the gun.

The two opponents glared at each other as they wrestled violently with each other. Austin tried to loosen Shadow's grip while Shadow attempted to yank the gun out of Austin hands. After failing to overpower each other, they simply abandoned the gun and grabbed one another.

Sarah watched as the two armoured opponents smashed one another into the walls, almost punching right through them. The shear strength and force of both of them caused the walls to crumble slightly. Austin then managed to give Shadow a hard kick which smashed her right though one of the walls.

As both opponents disappeared into the next room, Sarah ran for it. She knew that if this was indeed her brother, he'd want her to do this.

* * *

Shadow threw Austin to the ground. The cybernetic upgrades had made her stronger than ever and she was also faster. Not to mention that her temper was just as fiery as ever. As Austin tried to get up, Shadow once again grabbed him and threw him out threw a nearby window. The window was in front of an outside walk way, so Austin didn't need to worry about falling to his death.

Shadow it seemed didn't want to finish him off. Her real target was Sarah. As Austin saw Shadow leave, he jumped back in through the window and took off after her, stopping only to pick his Revenant back up.

* * *

Sarah continued running through all the different corridors and down all the stairs. She dared not look back for fear that Shadow was right behind her. Then, things got even worse. Sarah found herself in a corridor that seemed to have no end, and to make things even worse, the lights started to flicker. As the lights went on and off Sarah started to sweat even more. Sarah's running stopped completely and it now turned to a walk. Then to a crawl.

The lights went off. Then on again. Then they went off again for a very long time. Then again they came on. Sarah jumped back in fright as she Saw Shadow standing in the corridor before the lights went off again. There was a brief pause before they came back on again. Shadow was gone and the corridor was empty again. This time though, the lights where very faint. All the lights managed to do was allow the doorways and just a tiny bit of the corridor to be seen.

Sarah didn't moved for a very long time. She simply stood there, petrified with fright. She took several deep breaths before she made a very slow and cautious step forward. The N7 marine instantly regretted that though. Because as soon as her foot touched the ground, the whole complex seemed to shake as a long drawn out, ear-splitting roar echoed throughout the entire corridor and the complex.

Sarah was once again left completely paralysed as the terrifying roar shook the entire place and she saw her vision blur a bit. Sarah was seriously beginning to doubt whether her sanity was intact now.

The lights then suddenly went off again. This time, they seemed to stay off. Without any way of seeing anything that could attack her, Sarah quickly reached for a flashlight attachment on her belt. She quickly turned it on as she un-holstered her assault rifle and clipped the attachment into place.

Like something in a horror film, or a horror game, the flashlight only made the atmosphere all the more eerie. It only illuminated about two or three metres in front of her.

* * *

Austin set a very slow pace through the corridor. Whatever that roar had been, it had not been friendly. Worse still, the lights where out. As if it wasn't hard enough to find Sarah.

His thoughts however where interrupted when his suit detected motion right around the next corner. Austin immediately switched off his flashlight attachments and also switched off the spotlights on his armour.

Very quietly, the Helldiver took cover right at the end of corridor so that the motion he was detecting was right around the corner. He noticed that whoever this was also had a flashlight.

Austin slowly took a very deep breath. He had no way of knowing who this was. If he was lucky, it was Sarah. If he wasn't… well, he'd adapt to the situation.

He took one more deep breath and he bolted round the corner, gun raised.

* * *

Sarah jumped back slightly in surprise as her brother jumped out in front of her. In her surprise, she drew her gun. When she saw that it was Austin however, she didn't fire. She still kept her gun trained on the Helldiver though. She wasn't taking any chances. She had to know for certain whether this was truly her brother. For a long time she'd been hearing all these different rumours about her brother being alive, even when he should be dead.

* * *

Austin instantly put his left hand up in an attempting reassuring manner.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Sarah, easy! It's me!" he said quickly.

Sarah was clearly shaking. She was clearly very frightened, confused and probably delirious. It almost made even Austin shed a tear to see his sister like this. What had the last two years done to her?!

The N7 marine very slowly lowered her gun slightly so that her guns flashlight was not shining in her brother's face. It was now that she saw her brother's armour clearly. True enough, her brother had a more advanced look to him. His armour also had a more cleaner look than when she'd last seen him alive two years ago. Still, as she'd found out, people these days could make very convincing replicas of armour if a person was willing to pay enough money. And, as she and her brother had learned in their line of work, appearances could be very deceiving.

"Show me your face." She ordered.

"I…" Austin went to say, but Sarah repeated her words, this time even louder and way more forceful.

"Show me your face!" she yelled.

Austin did not try to argue with Sarah and retracted his helmet. He also holstered his Revenant.

Sarah was lost for words as the Helldiver's helmet retracted and she found herself staring right into the face of her brother. He looked no different than she remembered. He did seem to have one or two new scars, but other than that, nothing different at all.

Sarah quickly snapped her mind back to the situation at hand though. Facial surgery was also popular with enemies.

"How do I know it's really you?! Tell me something only my brother would know!" Sarah demanded.

Austin did not even hesitate to argue. He instantly wracked his brain for something about Sarah that only he would know. Then he quickly came across a memory of when Sarah had revealed a very startling fact about herself.

"When you where in high school, you brought a girl home with you. After a long conversation, you revealed that you are in fact bisexual. You prefer that this fact is left secret, and is only ever kept between you and me, our mother and father, and your closest friends." Said Austin.

Sarah was left speechless as she heard this. Only her true brother, her family, and someone she trusted with her own life knew this secret. True indeed, she was bisexual and preferred women as much as she preferred men.

To make sure he was absolutely certain, Austin then added another fact about his sister that only he would know.

"Also our mother always called you by the nickname Sari until you where 12 years old." He said.

Upon hearing this, Sarah eye's went wide with shock behind her Death Mask and she dropped her assault rifle right there.

To Austin utter surprise, his sister then literally pounced on him and hugged him so tightly that he feared she might crush his armour. The N7 marine even removed her Death Mask as she did so.

"You're alive! You really are alive! I can't believe those reports where actually right." She said, now sounding on the point of tears.

Austin wanted to say something, but he ultimately couldn't find the right words and he simply hugged Sarah back just as tightly. Apart from Liara, Austin had missed Sarah more than anyone.

After several long seconds, Sarah released her brother from her hug and Austin got his first clear look at Sarah's face.

She hadn't changed a single bit and she looked just as young and beautiful as she had done two years ago. Her hair looked red than ever and her face was just a beautiful. She had a more mature look this time, but it did nothing to diminish her looks. This was beyond any shadow of a doubt his sister. A sister he loved dearly, and would never abandon again.

"I've… I've missed you so much." He said, doing his best to hold back his own tears. He did hate it when he went all emotional like this.

"Where have you been all this time?" Sarah asked.

"Dead! And now he's going back to it!" a voice yelled.

Both siblings instantly looked to the source of the noise. The light's instantly came back on Shadow stood in the corridor. Here where both her targets, right where she wanted them.

Austin immediately reacted and he pushed Sarah behind him. His helmet reassembled as he did so. He turned to face Sarah as he did so.

"Run." He said.

For a moment, Sarah didn't reply. She wasn't about to abandon him now.

"Run!" Austin repeated, this time more forceful.

Sarah didn't need to be told again. She quickly picked up her Death Mask and her assault rifle and ran for it.

Shadow saw her run and started slowly waling towards Austin.

" _Not this time, Shadow. You can mess with me, but you will not have my sister!"_ Austin said in his head.

As Shadow slowly made her way towards him, Austin un-holstered his Revenant and pointed it at Shadow. As he pulled the trigger however, the gun simply clicked. Austin pulled the trigger again, but still the gun clicked. The Helldiver looked at the gun's thermal clip chamber. It was completely empty.

"Aw. What's the matter, Shepard? Lost something?" Shadow laughed evilly as she took a small cylinder object out from under her combat dress.

" _I hate it when she does that!"_ Austin groaned in his head as he saw the thermal clip shine in Shadow's cyborg hand. The Phantom had very sneakily taken it out of the gun when they had wrestled with it earlier.

Shadow tucked the thermal clip back under her combat dress and resumed her advance. Despite the fact that the gun was empty and that Austin didn't have enough time to put another one in though, Austin did not throw the gun on the ground. Instead, he did something that the Phantom hadn't thought of.

Once Shadow was close enough, Austin swung the gun right at her helmet and it hit her with full force. Normally, that would've knocked a normal person to the ground, but Shadow was different. The cybernetics in her body made her three times stronger and more endurable than a Krogan. All the attack did was knock her head to the side a bit.

Austin however, followed this with several more strikes, but still it did no good. After the last strike, the two simply glared at one another.

Austin went for another strike, but Shadow blocked this one. Before Austin could react in time, Shadow brought the Revenant to the side and then gave Austin a hard but very swift kick. Surprisingly, the kick was so hard that Austin was sent flying backwards.

As the Helldiver collided very hard with the floor, he caused several of the tiles and the floor to smash part slightly. Austin was left rather disoriented by this and it took him a while to recover. Shadow noticed this and slowly walked up to him. She stood over her opponent for a moment before she reached down and grabbed Austin with her cyborg hand. Before Austin could do anything, Shadow hauled him up and threw him right threw the wall.

Austin saw that his surroundings where a large open office. Shadow slowly stepped through the hole she'd made in the wall. This time though, Austin had recovered from Shadow's kick and he swung his leg at hers. Shadow was knocked onto her back and she landed very hard on the floor. Austin then rolled back up and he brought his left fist down onto Shadow's helmet. The Phantom spasmed slightly as the fist hit her square in the face.

Shadow however quickly counteracted with a swift kick which knocked Austin off of her. As Austin recovered slightly from this, Shadow rolled over onto her front and quickly got back up in a crouched position.

The two opponents once again looked at one another again before Austin picked up a large desk and swung it at Shadow.

Shadow was still in the middle of getting up as the desk collided with her. However it did very little to damage her. All the desk did was smash to pieces in Austin's hands as it made contact with the Phantom's armour.

Austin looked at the smashed apart desk for a minute before Shadow grabbed him and flung him against the wall, smashing apart several more desks as she did so.

As the Phantom pinned him against the wall, Austin gave Shadow a hard punch in the face which sent her off him. Before Shadow had time to recover, Austin grabbed her and threw her half way across the wall, once again smashing up more desks as he did so.

Austin slowly made his way over to where Shadow was slowly getting up. He was so preoccupied by expecting Shadow to trip him up though, that he failed to notice that the Phantom's left hand was glowing with biotics. Austin only noticed too late before Shadow gave him a very hard biotic ally charged punch which sent him flying.

Shadow got to her feet and made her way slowly to where the Helldiver had landed. When she saw the small crater where the body should've been however, there was nothing there. Just as she looked around though, Austin suddenly uncloaked right in front of her and gave her another punch in the face. Shadow was quick to counteract with her own punch however as her cybernetic hand made very hard contact with Austin's helmet.

The Helldiver reacted quickly by grabbing both of Shadow's arms and pushing her hard. The Phantom tired to push back, back Austin's strength and mass still outweighed her own. Wall after wall was smashed and crumpled as the two opponents charged their way through.

Shadow finally managed to get grip on her feet again and she pushed hard. This stopped Austin there and Shadow seized the opening. Using her cyborg hand, she grabbed Austin's helmet and smashed it several times into a wall.

Austin had to admit that this was not going well. He'd been completely unprepared for Shadow's new strength and enhancements. She also seemed all the more determined than ever to kill him. He doubted he'd be able to win this if it continued. He'd have to find some way of losing her and rejoining with Alpha Squad, and hopefully his sister.

* * *

The corridors once again shook as another horrifying roar echoed throughout the corridors. Sarah was beginning to think that Cerberus wasn't the only enemy down here. Having heard this roar twice now, it now sounded familiar to the sounds she'd heard when Cerberus had suddenly been attacked by an unseen creature. Whatever that thing had been, it was close.

Her thought's however where interrupted when she suddenly ran into something hard. The crash knocked her back and she fell. She looked up to what she had bashed into. It looked like a silhouette of some kind. A camouflaged silhouette be more precise. It moved slightly as it looked at her.

"Sarah?" it asked in a strangely familiar female voice.

Sarah looked up in surprise. She recognized that voice immediately.

"Liara?!"

The silhouette disengaged it's cloak and Liara stood above Sarah in her Helldiver armour.

"You're a Helldiver?" Sarah asked in surprise.

"It's a very long story." Said Liara as she helped Sarah up.

At that moment, the rest of Alpha Squad uncloaked.

"You're all here as well?" Sarah asked in surprise.

Before anyone could answer though, another roar echoed throughout the corridor. This time though, it was much louder and it sounded as though it was much closer. Something was heading their way, and it did not sound friendly.

* * *

**Right, Part 2 will be up soon, I promise, but it needs a bit more time. I haven't finished it yet.**

**Few things I can guarantee at least in Part 2:**

**Fierce sword fights, including between Shepard and Shadow...**

**The** **creature fully revealed...**

**Miranda and Jacob defect to the Helldivers**

**A catfight between Miranda and Shadow (Miranda loses i'm afraid, but survives)**

**Stay tuned and i'll hopefully get back to you in a few days.**

**Please do leave reviews for this as well. Like to know how well i've done for a completely original mission story.**


	17. Chapter 17, Best Served Cold, Part 2

**YES! At long last after all these weeks, it's finally finished. First of all, I am so sorry that you've had to wait so long for this, and I hope that this has been worth the wait.**

**Now, I have a bit of interesting news that should interest some of you. I have finally decided to get a BETA reader to help correct some of the mistakes I make, such as the missing words. I've already found one that has the right qualifications, and I have sent her PM asking if she is available. Just waiting for her to reply back now. So with any luck, future chapters will now be completely spotless.**

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter. Next up will be Haestrom, the Kasumi's loyalty mission since I really want to do that one afterwards and finally Thane. After that, we'll see what happens.**

**Until then, please do enjoy this and leave a review. I worked very hard on this.**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**Best Served Cold, Part 2**

Still the fight between Austin and Shadow continued. The odds really weren't in Austin's favour. Right at that moment however, he saw an opportunity. He charged at Shadow, knocking them both over the edge of a balcony and sending them both into a large pile of rubble.

Both opponents where left rather exhausted by this. Shadow it seemed however just wouldn't stop. The Phantom got back up on her feet and swung a punch at Austin. The Helldiver dodged under it however and he swung back at Shadow. Austin's fist however was blocked as Shadow grabbed it in her left hand. Shadow then went for another punch, but Austin caught her cybernetic wrist in his free hand. But then, something very unexpected happened.

Shadow's cyborg hand started changing shape. It seemed to morph into some kind of flamethrower. Almost instantly, flames shot out of it and right at Austin face as he tried to push the arm away. His helmet kept him safe from the fire, but he could still feel the extreme heat.

For several long seconds, Austin felt as though there was nothing he could do. Just at that moment however, he saw an electrified cable dangling loose from the ceiling, and it was sparking.

Without much of a choice, Austin gave Shadow a violent head butt with his helmet. The blow knocked Shadow back slightly and her grip on his right hand loosened. He quickly wrenched it away, grabbed the cable, and thrust it into Shadow's neck.

Shadow seemed to spasm violently as the volts electrocuted her. The volts then went haywire and exploded, sending both of them flying in separate directions.

* * *

Alpha Squad and Sarah where all taking very deep breaths. When they'd been in the corridor earlier, the lights had gone out again. This time though, something had tried to attack them. They hadn't seen what it was, but whatever it had been it was massive. It would've killed them if they hadn't managed to escape from it.

"What was that thing?" Sarah panted.

"I'm not sure. But whatever it was, it definitely wasn't human." Said Alaara.

At that, something large crashed right through the ceiling. Everyone immediately pointed their guns at the wreckage. They saw a figure of some kind moving amongst the dust. Eventually it cleared… to reveal Austin, slightly battered, but definitely alive.

Liara immediately ran up to her bond mate and helped him up.

"Are you alright, Austin?" she asked.

"I'll live." Said Austin.

"Shadow?" Griffin asked.

Austin nodded and looked up at the hole he'd just fallen through.

"She'll be back." He said.

"Then we'd better get moving. If we can find the comm array, we can get off this planet." Said Sandra.

"We're not going anywhere until someone's brought me up to speed!" said Sarah defiantly.

Neither Austin nor Alpha Squad argued with the N7 marine. The Helldivers spent the next several minutes bringing Sarah up to speed and explaining everything to her. She had been a bit surprised by some of the news, but she didn't interrupt and simply listened.

There was a long silence after Austin had finished the story. Finally, Sarah broke the silence.

"So this team your building, are you still recruiting?" she asked.

This question puzzled Austin slightly. Why would Sarah ask a question like that?

"Yes. Why?" Austin asked cautiously.

"Because I'm joining you. I've spent two years mourning you, and I'm going to make sure you come back this time. Mom, dad, and I are not losing you again." Sarah replied.

Austin was very surprised by this. In fact, all of Alpha Squad where surprised by this. Sarah actually wanted to join the team?

"I… well, I…" Austin stuttered for while. Eventually though, his mind was made up. "Well, that's great. But we'll discuss this properly once we've got off this planet."

Before Sarah could reply however, the lights once again started to flicker and the ground shook. The roar once again returned. Once again it was close. And then there came the sounds of heavy footsteps.

"Run!" Sarah shouted.

Before Austin could even say anything, Liara grabbed his arm and pulled him along with her as the Helldivers and Sarah ran.

Eventually, their path led them into the complex's kitchen. Without much of a choice, everyone hurried in. Sarah shit the door behind them, but there was no lock. All they could really do was turn off the lights.

As Leena flicked the switch, the footsteps got even worse, and then the sound of very heavy breathing could be heard. Almost as if it was right outside the door. Alpha Squad went to activate their cloaks, but when Austin tried his, it seemed to fizz and crackle. Austin looked down at the floor. It was all wet; none of their cloaks would work. Even if it was only their feet that got wet, that still seemed to affect the cloak.

The light's flickered again before they finally died. Everything went dark. All they could see now was the faint bits of light from outside that was seeping in through some of the windows.

"There's something moving out there." Said Dash nervously as he looked out of one of the glass windows in the kitchen. He could see something, but the glass made the image far too blurry.

"I think it's coming for us." He said, doing his best to stay calm.

"Hide! Get out of sight, quickly!" said Austin.

Everyone hurried and hid behind several of the cooking units inside the kitchen. Austin hid with Sarah and Liara behind the one nearest to the door.

Once again the whole complex seemed to shake. This time it was even more intense. Whatever Dash had seen moving out there was drawing closer. The light's flickered back on very briefly. But what everyone managed to see just for a second froze them solid. For a split second, the lights had cast a shadow on the windows. The Shadow of an absolutely massive creature standing right on the other side. Right outside the kitchen! Austin's heart started to beat very fast in his chest. He had seen that shadow before. But it could it have really been…?

Dash had hid near to where he'd originally been. The breathing was no very close. Dash shivered slightly as he watched the windows steam up slightly with each breath.

"Keep quiet! Nobody make any sounds!" Austin hissed quietly.

Another shake came. This time it nearly sent everyone off their feet.

"Bloody hell! What's happening?!" said Dash.

"Dash, keep qui…" Austin went to say. But he was interrupted by a small clicking sound.

Everyone looked in horror at the door. Sure enough, the handle was moving. It clicked several times as it was moved up and down several times. None of them dared look further and they made to move as far back as they could from the door. An icy chill crept up all their spines and Goosebumps formed on their skin under their armour, despite their suit's internal heating.

The door handle clicked several times, and then there was the unmistakable sound of the door slowly sliding open. Everyone else was too frightened now to look but Dash had a full of the door. He had no choice but to watch as the door was slid open and he saw a massive clawed hand appear around the edge. And then… very slowly, the rest of the creature came into Dash's view. What the Helldiver scout saw nearly made him scream.

Austin dared not look to see what this creature was. He could not see it, but he knew it was now inside the kitchen. Austin shuddered with each sound of the creature's deep breathing. It did sound a bit strange though. It almost sounded as though the creature was struggling to breath. Or as though it was trying to breath through punctured lungs, and Austin definitely knew what that was like.

Suddenly, everyone jumped as there was sound of a small crash and a light suddenly came on. The room was now filled with what looked like the beam from a flashlight. The sound of breathing was now replaced by several loud snarls. The creature must've knocked something over by accident which had activated the light.

Austin did his best to breathe steady as he listened to the creature snarl and roar at the flashlight before it finally seemed to regard the light as harmless. Several footsteps could be heard… and then the creature stepped into the flashlight beams path.

Austin was close to being petrified as he saw the shadow of the creature once again. There was no mistaking it this time. This was definitely the creature he had seen break out of one of the tram carriages earlier. The shadow's shape was an exact match.

He couldn't tell for certain how big this thing was just from the shadow, but judging from its size, it had to be at least 3 metres tall. From the looks of its shadow, it also seemed to have 4 arms. It's main two where not touching the ground and they looked like they had spikes of some sort sticking out of the wrists. The lower second pair of arms remained on the ground at all times and looked as though they where being used by the creature to walk. That was certainly and interesting biology that Austin had never seen before. A creature that used its lower arms to walk while the main arms where free to do what they wanted.

The shadow of the creature looked around and sniffed the air several times. The creature's shadow even seemed to show the warm mist clouds of air that came out of its mouth with each breath. The head looked like it was ridged and had organic armour plating on it.

The shadow seemed to get smaller as it worked away from the flashlight, but still remained in the beam. Part of the shadow was then blocked by one of the cabinets. Rather frighteningly, this was also the same one that Austin, Liara, and Sarah where hid behind.

The shadow seemed to look around a bit more before it then leant on the cabinet. Then an odd sound filed the room. It sounded like gulping or drinking. Then Austin remembered that the reason the floor was all wet was because a nearby tap had been left on and the sink was blocked in both holes, causing an overflow. In their haste to hide, no one had turned the tap off. The drinking sounds continued as the creature drank loads of the water with each gulp.

Austin finally dared to risk a glance as he very slowly looked over the edge. The view was greatly obstructed because there where large amounts of meat hanging from hooks over the cabinets. Between the gaps however, Austin could see small glimpses of the creature. It was indeed massive. Austin still couldn't see the creatures' head because it was behind one of the large pieces of meat, still drinking from the overflowing sink of water. But its skin was definitely visible.

Its skin was very dark. Despite the darkness, there where hints of brown on the skin, so the overall skin tone was a very dark drown colour. What parts of the skin where visible to Austin where not a pretty sight. Many patches of skin where either very blackened or pale. A few bits even looked dead and some others even looked as though they where so dead that they where decaying. Worse still, there where signs of burn marks, cuts, and scars.

The creature then moved slightly, allowing more of its body to be visible. Austin still couldn't see its form fully, but he saw more of its hulking body. He almost felt sick in his stomach when he saw the creatures' chest.

The creature was so thin that's its skin practically hugged its bones. Worse still, the creatures' ribcage was hideously deformed. So deformed in fact, that several of the lower ribs where growing out of the creature's chest like spikes. They where even grew upwards so that they looked like some sort of chest guard armour, except with bones.

The creature's zombie like chest rose and fell with each long breath it took. It was then that Austin noticed that the creature was missing quite a lot of skin on the chest and the stomach which actually exposed its internal workings. How was this thing even still alive after all that it must've endured?

The slurping sounds stopped as the creature stopped drinking the water and looked around, sniffing the air and even nudging one of the pieces of meat hung up in front of it.

It was then that Austin noticed the large burn marks on the creature's hide. They where brand marks, similar to how Earth cows where sometimes branded with a hot iron to mark them properly. At first, Austin didn't understand the marks, but his eyes soon refocused, and the Helldiver saw that they weren't letters, they where numbers. 1 and 3.

" _13!"_ Austin read out in his head. Could it really be…? No! It couldn't be!

Before he could think further however, one of the large meat pieces was flung aside and the creature's face came into view, snarling.

Austin immediately ducked back down again in fright. Fortunately, the creature didn't see him, but he had a feeling that it could sense that there was fresh, live meat nearby. Austin risked one more look and looked over the cabinet. He wished he hadn't now, as the creature's head was now right above him. This did at least give him a full view of it now though.

The creature's head was firstly large. Its mouth was filed with several gaps to show that it had over 3 rows of razor sharp teeth. When Austin looked into the creature's eyes, he saw nothing. All that was there was an empty whiteness, no pupils at all. As he had also seen from the shadow of the creature's forehead, it was rigid and covered by some sort of crest. It was solid bone and seemed to have several spikes and elongations on it. This actually reminded Austin of the crests of some Krogan who had similar spikes grow from there's. One of each of the creature's two sets of arms came into view.

Sure enough, the main set where long and slightly thin. They had hands with three clawed fingers and a thumb, and both arms had a very long and very sharp looking, bone spike sticking out of the wrist.

The second set weren't as thin and had more muscle on them, most likely a result of these arms having to hold up the creature's body all the time. The ends of the arms where a slightly odd sight. Instead of hands, they had some sort of odd hooks on the end. They curved inwards so that the weight could be properly supported on them, and it also mirrored the way an Earth Gorilla would support its weight on its knuckles.

The rest of the creature's scarred and dead looking body came into view. It was now that Austin saw that this thing almost looked as though it was made out of more than one creature. What was he looking at? A Frankenstein monster? Because that was what it was looking like. Both the main arm and their shoulders looked a but out of place compared to the rest of the body, and the second set of arms also looked as though they where taken from a large crab, but with a slightly different bone and skin structure. Austin also guessed that the crest was mutated from Krogan. This certainly explained why this thing looked zombie like.

The creature sniffed the air again and moved forward slightly over the cabinet. As it did, its main right hand pushed slightly on a large board. Sarah hadn't noticed that she'd been resting against this and she got pushed forward with it. The N7marine froze in fight, praying that the creature wouldn't notice her as it took one of the large meat pieces into its mouth and started to eat hungrily on it.

Both Liara and Austin had also noticed this and they held their breath as they watched the creature chew the meat with its teeth and then slow it. Seconds felt like hours as they waited for the creature to move again. They could only hope that it still failed to see them. Because the creature's eyes where nothing but pale white, it was impossible to tell what kind of eyesight it had or whether it could see in the dark, and no one was willing to take any risks with this thing.

Finally, the creature moved. Mercifully, the board also settled back against the cabinet with Sarah on it.

* * *

Unknown to everyone else, Ventra had very slowly and quietly taken his sniper bow out, had removed the bow and had very quietly placed a round in the gun. As he looked round to line up his shot however, Griffin suddenly grabbed the gun as well and pulled it away.

"No!" the demolition expert hissed as he tried to yank the sniper rifle out of the Turian's hands.

"Let go!" Ventra hissed back as he tried to shake the sniper out of Griffin's grip.

* * *

Austin noticed the very quiet struggle that Ventra was having with Griffin. He wanted to tell them to stop it, to whisper to Ventra to do as Griffin said. But he couldn't. Even if he whispered, the creature that was currently right above him, Liara and Sarah might still hear him.

The creature then did something very frightening. It moved off of the top of the cabinet and then moved around. It stopped for a moment as the Helldivers came into its view. The pale white eyes glared at them. Somehow though, it didn't attack. Austin, Liara, and Sarah dared not move a muscle. Still though, the creature didn't attack, even though there was live prey right in front of it.

* * *

Griffin was still trying to stop Ventra from shooting. There was no guarantee that the shot would kill the creature instantly, plus he'd give away there position. Firing off a shot would get them all killed.

Despite Griffin's best efforts though, Ventra still refused to let go. The two Helldivers glared at one another as they struggled.

* * *

The creature still continued looking. It was like it knew there was something there, but couldn't see it.

" _Why isn't it attacking?!"_ Austin thought as he stared into the creature's pale white eyes.

The creature sniffed the air several times and seemed to move in closer with its mouth hanging open slightly, baring its three rows of razor sharp teeth. Each hot breath from the creature dispersed out of its mouth as condensation.

Then something very unexpected happened. The creature's white eyes seemed to roll backwards and disappear. In their place, where proper eyes, pupils and everything.

Now it made sense. The white eyes weren't eyes at all, they where covers! Austin had seen something like that before. Earth Sharks often made their eyes white to protect them whenever they attacked their prey.

Now Austin had a clear view of one of the creature's eyes and he looked closely at it, still not moving. He had seen eyes like that before. Eyes like the ones this creature had where motion sensitive. Now it made sense as to why the creature wasn't attacking. It couldn't see them because they weren't moving.

* * *

Ventra was now struggling more than ever to wrench his sniper out of Griffin's hands. The creature was right up close to Alpha Squad's leader. He had to do something. He kept pulling. Slowly, he could feel that Griffin was losing his grip.

The creature was now so close to them that, they could hear the creature's heart beating inside it's scarred and mutilated chest. It couldn't see them, but it was still giving the impression that it knew there was something here. It seemed to sniffing more this time and as it did, it seemed to be moving closer to Sarah.

"I think it can smell your perfume." Austin whispered so quietly that Sarah and Liara just barely heard him. The creature seemed completely oblivious to the sound.

Sarah didn't know what to do. Like her brother, she too could tell by the creature's eyes that it would only see her if she moved so she dared not move a muscle, but at the same time, she knew that the creature might eventually discover that it's prey was right in front of it if it kept smelling her scent like that.

It didn't smell the Helldiver because their suit's hid nearly everything. Their pheromone signatures heat and smell where safely hidden. Sarah on the other hand was only wearing an N7 defender armour, which wasn't designed to hide things like that.

The creature's mouth opened wider now. Sarah had a feeling that the creature wasn't being fooled anymore. It could now tell that there was something in front of it, something it couldn't see but smell.

* * *

Ventra had had enough now. Using all his strength, he yanked the sniper rifle right out of Griffin's hands and pointed it right at the creature. Just as he was about to fire however, a noise suddenly echoed throughout the hallways. It was a sort of rumbling sound, almost as though the facility was slowly becoming unstable.

The creature slowly looked up as it registered the noise. It almost looked slightly nervous at this. The white lids once again rolled over it's eyes and it started to retreat. The creature hissed and snarled slightly before it slowly made it's way out of the door.

Everyone immediately gave a heavy sigh and relaxed.

"Don't ever do that again!" Griffin snarled at Ventra who had put his sniper back on his back. The Turian just didn't answer.

"What was that thing?!" said Dash as he got up, still shaking a bit.

"I have a hunch, but I really hope I'm wrong." Said Austin as he helped Sarah up, who was also shaking.

"What would that be then?" Alaara asked.

"I fear it may have been that thing that I saw break out of the tram." Austin replied.

"Tram?" Sarah asked as her head suddenly bolted up.

"Yes. Talking of which, there where Alliance demolition charges on the tracks that derailed it. Was that you?" Griffin asked.

Sarah nodded. "We where trying to cut off reinforcements." She said.

"Well, I hate to break it too you. But you blew up a cargo tram instead. They where transporting supplies and something else called Experiment 13." Said Dash who had now stopped shaking and was starting to calm down a bit now.

"Experiment 13? I've heard that name before. I overheard a conversation between several Cerberus troops. They said that Experiment 13 was being shipped here. They sounded almost scared. Briefly said that it had been responsible for the deaths of over 20 people." Said Sarah.

"You think that… creature was it?" Said Leena.

"Maybe, but we can't worry about that now." Said Austin. The Major then turned to his sister. "Sarah, where's the rest of the Alliance marines that you where with?" he asked.

"They're all dead. I'm all that's left now." Said Sarah regrettably. "Shadow's trap worked it seems."

"Do you know if this complex has a comm array? We need to contact the Normandy." Austin asked.

"I think so. My team and I managed to get the schematics of this place briefly before Cerberus tracked us down." Said Sarah. She activated her omni tool and uploaded the schematics to everyone.

Sandra then projected a holographic image of the complex onto the ground in front of them. Everyone knelt down around it.

"Looks like the comm array isn't too far from where we are now." Said Sarah as she pointed to a station that was wired to a large dish on the outside of the complex in the snow.

"Right, we head there first and contact the Normandy. After that, we had for the station's reactor core and set it to overload. We're not leaving this place standing." Said Austin.

"What about Shadow?" Sarah asked concernedly.

"If we run into her, we'll deal with her. Otherwise, we just hope she perishes in the blast." Said Austin.

"Sounds like a plan." Said Alaara.

"Then let's get going." Said Austin as he and the others stood up. They made sure that they where careful going out of the kitchen. They really weren't in the mood for anymore surprises.

* * *

Shadow groaned as she was slowly picked up from where she'd landed by being thrown several walls. She found several figures standing over her. As her sight slowly came back, she found that they where the rest of Cerberus group that she'd left in order to go hunting. Miranda and Jacob where with them.

"It's about time you showed up." Said the Phantom as a Cerberus Centurion helped her up.

"You should've waited for us, Azula. Shepard or the others could've killed you." Said Miranda.

"Others?" Shadow asked, a bit confused. She had assumed that Shepard had come alone.

"His whole team are here. Alpha Squad." Said Jacob.

"Damnation! Spread out and search the area! Find them!" Shadow yelled as she picked herself out of the wreckage, shrugging off the help of her Cerberus allies who had come to her aid.

"Search the area? But Shadow, they're gone!" one of the troopers objected.

His objection however was short lived when Shadow's knives slid out of her fingers and she plunged them right into the trooper's heart. The trooper gave a sharp cry of pain before he died and Shadow pushed his body off, her cybernetic claws now dripped with blood.

"Any further objections?!" the Phantom asked coldly as the other Cerberus troopers backed away in fright and remained silent at the sight of the bloody knives.

"Search the complex! Bring me those Helldivers!" Shadow yelled.

"No!" a voice objected behind her.

Shadow immediately froze. Someone had just refused her. Shadow slowly turned round. She had already known from the voice who it was.

Sure enough, Miranda was stood out from everyone else and had her gun pointed right at Shadow.

"You dare defy me, Lawson?!" said Shadow, slightly taken aback by this, but not surprised. She and Miranda never had seen eye to eye.

"This has gone far enough, Azula! Your hunger for revenge will be the death of us all. I won't have it anymore. I the Illusive Man could see you now, he would agree with me. I hereby relive you of your command!" said Miranda forcefully.

All of the other Cerberus troops stood back. They had worked with Shadow before and they knew what the Phantom did to people who turned on her.

"Miranda, you'll get yourself killed!" said Jacob.

But Miranda ignored him and still kept her gun on Shadow. Surprisingly, the Phantom wasn't angry. In fact it seemed as though she was laughing under her helmet.

"You've made a grave mistake, Lawson." She said.

The two women started to slowly circle one another. Miranda kept her gun on Shadow, but the Phantom didn't reach for her sword like Miranda thought she would. Nor did she activate her wrist cannon.

"You don't scare me, Azula. I knew from the beginning that you where a mistake. You put Cerberus to shame." Said Miranda.

Shadow then laughed historically.

"You honestly think that I care about Cerberus anymore?! You are such a stupid bitch." She laughed.

At the mention of Shadow calling her a bitch, Miranda lost her temper and fired a shot.

The gun shot didn't do any damage at all and simply bounced off of Shadow's armour. The Phantom simply looked at where the round had hit and simply looked at Miranda with a look of smugness.

"Enough of this charade." She said as she walked up to Miranda.

Miranda immediately panicked and fired more shots. They just bounced off as well. Eventually Shadow got to close. Before Miranda could react in time, Shadow snatched the pistol out of her hand with her cybernetic hand and slapped Miranda in the face with her other, causing the Cerberus operative to fall.

"You're pathetic, Miranda. You boast of all perfect genes you have, yet you never live to a single one of you. The only thing you do right as strut around show off that pretty little ass of yours. Your father chose poorly when he kept you." Said Shadow. The Phantom then turned her back and slowly walked away. "Now fall in line. I won't tell you again."

Just as Shadow finished her sentence however, a small biotic warp hit her in the back of the head. The Phantom slowly turned to see Miranda getting back up, her nose bleeding slightly and her biotics flaring.

"I see. It's going to be like that now, is it?" said Shadow. She reached down and unclipped her sword and belt from her right hip and threw it to the Centurion.

Once again, the two women circled one another. Some of the troopers even started whooping and cheering slightly at the upcoming catfight. Jacob simply looked at the sight fearfully.

"You'll pay for what you said." Said Miranda coldly.

"Bring it on then, Cerberus bitch." Said Shadow.

Sure enough, Miranda attacked first and the two engaged in an extremely violent fight. They punched and kicked on another, they pulled each other's hair, they exchanged biotic punches and attacks even used some of the debris against one another.

Miranda was much better with her biotics, but Shadow's speed, agility, and strength outmatched hers greatly. Worse still, the cybernetic implants and her extreme rage didn't help either.

After several long minutes, Miranda felt herself tiring. Shadow on the other hand only seemed to go even more berserk. The Phantom's punches where so hard and fast that Miranda felt as though her jaw and ribs would crack and break any minute.

Now being beaten almost to the point of death, Miranda tried one last desperate attempt. She charge up her biotics as much as she could in her right hand and threw the punch at Shadow. But Shadow caught the Cerberus operative's wrist in her arm and gave it a very violent twist before the biotics could be properly unleashed.

Miranda screamed in pain as the bones in her wrist where completely broken. Taking advantage of Miranda's weakened and bloody state, Shadow punched Miranda several fast times with enough force to break her neck and then threw her to the ground.

Miranda made one desperate attempt to get up, but Shadow smashed away a bit of loose wall and it fell on Miranda.

Everyone fell silent as Shadow gazed down at her unconscious opponent. Miranda may have been defeated, but she had put up a hell of a fight. Shadow felt bruises all over her chest and breasts, her hair still sting from being pulled and she could taste blood in her mouth.

"Fucking bitch!" she spat as she literally spat out blood. "Anyone else?" she then asked threateningly as she looked at everyone. No one apart from Jacob said anything. He was crouched above Miranda and had her injured and almost beaten to death body in his arms.

"I won't fight you. But I won't follow you either." He said defiantly.

"Have it your way, Taylor." Said Shadow coldly. "You can stay here and rot with that freak."

Without another word, Shadow and the rest of her troops left, leaving just Jacob and an unconscious Miranda, who was bleeding very badly now.

* * *

All of Alpha Squad kept guard on the area as Austin, Sarah and Sandra made the communication to the Normandy.

"Alpha Squad to Normandy, do you copy?" said Sandra.

"We're receiving your signal, Miss Whryte." Came EDI's voice in reply.

"Who's that?" Sarah asked, slightly surprised to hear EDI's voice.

"That's EDI. The Normandy's AI." Austin replied.

"You have an AI on board?" Sarah asked.

"It's a long story. I'll explain later." Said Austin. He then went back to the message.

"We need evacuation from these coordinates." He said as he typed in the coordinates of the complex and sent them to the Normandy.

"The Normandy's systems have been repaired, but they still need more time to before we can fly again and reach you." Said EDI.

"Take your time. We have something else we need to take care of here anyway." Said Sarah.

"Is that Sarah?" came Joker's voice.

"Hello, Joker. Good to hear from you again." Sarah smiled.

"Same here, Lieutenant." Joker replied.

"It's Commander now, actually." Sarah corrected.

At this, everyone started to snigger slightly, trying to contain their laughter. Only Sarah and Austin didn't get it.

"What's so funny?" Sarah asked.

"Now we have to call you Commander Shepard." Dash said, still trying hard not to laugh too much.

"Oh, I see now. Yes, very funny." Said Austin sarcastically. He turned to Sarah, who still didn't get it. "That's what I'm often remembered by when I did all those deeds several years ago and when we stopped Saren." He explained.

Sarah then understood and nodded. She did give a small chuckle though.

"And I believe you've promoted again if I've heard right… Major." Sarah smiled slightly under her Death Mask.

"Well… I don't like to boast." Said Austin.

Sandra finished the call to the Normandy and deactivated the comm array.

"Call sent. We have maybe half an hour before the Normandy get's here." She said.

"More than enough time." Said Austin.

"Before we go, you might be interested in that console. It contains information on what Cerberus have been doing here. May even have more information on this Experiment 13." Said Sandra.

Austin, Sarah, and Liara went up to the console and activated it.

The information was immense. This sort of information would definitely benefit the Arkanes and the Helldivers. As Leena began copying the data onto her omni tool, Austin typed Experiment 13 in the search.

He wished he hadn't now, as his worst fears where realised. The holographic interface changed to show a long list next to a holographic image of the exact same creature that they'd been hiding from in the Kitchen.

"So you where right. Experiment 13 is that creature." Said Liara.

Austin went to the top of the contents and started reading.

"Experiment 13. Cloned from the DNA of a dinosaur and mutated and blended with skin tissue from Husks taken from Eden Prime and the Citadel. Further gene mutations where applied during growth. 13 demonstrates uncontrollable amounts of violence. Upon first examination, 13 attacked and killed nearly 20 Cerberus soldiers and scientists. 13 was been ladled as extremely dangerous and is to be kept under constant surveillance. 13 has been placed in extreme isolation from the other Experiments and has continued to show uncontrollable amounts of violence. Consequences are far too horrifying to imagine of Experiment ever broke free of confinement." He read out.

"Looks like it lived up to it's name then." Said Sarah.

"What do you mean?" Liara asked.

"The number 13 is often considered to be a very unlucky number among humans. It's had a long and bad history. This experiment just continues that. It was unlucky for Cerberus because it resulted in over 20 deaths." Sarah explained.

"That certainly makes certain parts of human history make sense." Said Liara.

Austin went back to the console and continued reading.

"13 is carnivorous and only ever eats meat. One test later proved that 13 prefers fresh blood as well and will always eat living prey while they are still alive. 13 hunts by using a combination of smell and sight. Eyesight is movement based and can only see prey that is moving. This has proven handy for studying the Experiment further. 13 however must only be approached when wearing special gear that hides pheromones and smell as it can smell prey even if it can't see them." He read.

"So that explains everything. I knew I shouldn't have worn this perfume today." Said Sarah.

"Isn't that the one I gave you for your birthday?" Liara asked.

"Let's stay focused here, Liara." Said Austin.

"Sorry, love." Said Liara.

Austin went back to reading further about Experiment 13.

"A weakness that 13 does appear to have is that it has a fear of fire. The fire does no hurt 13, but the constant movement of the flames confuses it's vision and makes the Experiment panic. This has proven useful when we have had to move 13 to a different cell, but we have had incidents where 13 has panicked too much and attempted to fight, resulting in the injuries and deaths of scientists and troopers. Many tests we have done have shown that 13 is dangerously intelligent. Even problem solving intelligence due to the DNA tampering giving it a secondary brain and large brain mass. As of yet, 13 has not attempted to escape from it's cell. But we fear it will try eventually. To make us even more concerned, the Illusive Man has recently requested that 13 be moved to the Artus complex. He thinks that 13 is the ideal test subject for the experimental mind control devices and that we can finally tame the creature. We have made sure that it is impossible for 13 to escape the tram it is being brought on, but we still worry that this is what 13 has been waiting for. If it escapes, we may never be able to find it. 13 can survive on the hostile conditions on Krelldoor, so there's no telling what it can do out there. Worse still, if it manages to get itself off-world, the consequences are too terrible to imagine. As if Project Overlord didn't have me worried already. Latest log, Dr Gavin Archer." Austin finished.

"So Cerberus created that thing? Now I have another reason to hate them. Creating a monster like that…" said Ventra.

"At least we know a bit more about it now. We use fire, that should drive it off." Said Liara.

"That's if we run into it again. If we're lucky, we won't encounter it." Said Austin. "Let's get to the complex's core."

* * *

They all took a very slow pace through the facility. They also listened out for any sign that Experiment 13 might be nearby. Austin had also told them that if there was any sign of movement, they where to freeze immediately and not move.

After walking through the dark and unlit corridors for what felt like hours, they finally reached their destination. The main reactor room was very large. The main central pylons where currently down inside the ground floor. Above them was a balcony that went all around the entire area.

"Okay, raise the reactor pylons and set the charges." Said Austin.

"Sarah walked up to a small control panel on the far side of the room and pressed a few buttons. Five reactor pylons slowly rose out of the ground. There where four of them with a much larger fifth one in the centre.

Griffin handed everyone an explosive charge and the Helldivers went to work on planting the charges onto the pylons.

Just as they where almost finished however, an alarm sounded throughout the entire area and the pylons suddenly retreated back into the floor. Everyone immediately went into battle formation.

"Stay sharp. I don' t think we're done with Cerberus yet." Said Austin.

There was long wait. Nothing happened. Then, a small device suddenly landed at their feet. Only too late did they notice that it was a flashbang grenade. The grenade detonated and Austin was temporarily blinded by a very bright light.

By the time it had cleared, Austin found that he was on his own. Then suddenly, several lights came on around the balcony. Then there came the sound of what sounded like a cry for help. Austin looked to the source of the noise and saw a wounded Alliance marine on top of the balcony.

"Help me." Said the marine weakly. But he was interrupted as a plasma shot suddenly hit him in the back and he fell over the edge.

Shadow and several other Cerberus troopers appeared on top of the balcony where the marine had just been, all laughing evilly. Austin immediately reacted and aimed his plasma cannon at Shadow. He'd just about had enough of this Phantom.

"Ah ah ah. I wouldn't do that if I where you." Said Shadow as she shook her cyborg finger warningly. "Show him what we got."

To Austin's horror, a large Cerberus centurion walked forward with a female figure dangling from the neck in his hand. It was Sarah! Plus, he could see some of the others had been captured as well. Shadow had clearly learned from last time.

"So Shepard, you here for the Alliance marines, your sister, or me?" Shadow asked confidently. She had power here now.

"I was only here for Sarah and the hostages." Said Austin as he switched off the targeting laser on his plasma cannon and it stood down. "But now, I'm taking you down too!"

Shadow didn't seem at all frightened or intimidated by this and simply laughed.

"Oh, I'm shaking in my boots." She laughed sarcastically.

"Aren't you scary." Taunted the Centurion as he laughed with Shadow.

"You're about to find out." Said Austin coldly.

"Are we really?" Shadow replied. "Listen, I'm what you might call… a Collector. Not the type your after, but still a Collector. If someone wants it, I like to think I have it. And if I don't have it, I'll get it."

Shadow then reached behind her back and took out one of the spikes on her back. This particular one had no skull on it and was just an empty spike.

"Now, I have a spike right here with your name on it, just waiting to have a skull impaled on it. And, as luck would have it, here you are, standing just where I want you. So, are you gonna be a good boy and give up now?" Shadow taunted.

"You're not giving orders here anymore, Shadow!" said Austin defiantly.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Shadow smiled evilly.

Several other normal Phantoms suddenly uncloaked on the high railings surrounding the arena shaped room.

"Look around you. These people are all begging to join up with my team. But unfortunately for them, I only take the best. And today, best means whoever can kill you!" said Shadow.

Shadow then gestured to all the other Phantom's.

"He's all yours, girls! It's initiation time!" she said.

All the other Phantoms leapt over the edge and landed around Austin, surrounding him. The Helldiver looked around for a moment, counting his enemies. He knew know how this was going to be. Austin slowly placed his Revenant on his back and drew Excalibur out of the holster on his back.

All the Phantom's went into fighting stances with all their swords pointed at the Helldiver. One Phantom lunged first and Austin blocked the blow and parried it. The parry was so fast that the Phantom didn't react in time and Excalibur cut her throat open. The other Phantom's reacted and swung at Austin. The Helldiver blocked and swung back at another Phantom, but this one ducked and then somersaulted over the Helldiver.

" _They'd make good ninjas, and they'd certainly be a challenge for Xun. I'll give 'em that much."_ Austin thought as another Phantom lunged at him but missed, allowing him to counter the blow by breaking her arm and then stabbing her in the back.

Another Phantom lunged at him, but the Helldiver blocked the blow and then suddenly whirled around. His elbow connected with the Phantom's helmet which temporarily disorientated her. Seizing his chance, Austin ran the Phantom right through.

Shadow was growing irritated by this. Shepard had now killed three of the Phantoms and in just 10 seconds.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear. If you don't kill him, you don't join me, so I kill you anyway!" Shadow yelled.

The other Phantom's seemed to respond to this and their swings and strikes seemed to get more aggressive. Austin however kept his cool and continued either parrying the blows, or striking and lunging back.

Austin however quickly attacked back and delivered several fast strikes on another Phantom, which she just managed to block. Another Phantom noticed that her comrade was in danger and she grabbed Austin by the special bit of armour that went over his neck and just below his helmet.

Before the Phantom could throw him anywhere however, Austin brought his left arm down on hers, causing the Phantom to lose her grip. Austin then swung his arm to the side and hit the Phantom right in the face, causing her to lose her balance and stager away from the others.

Austin then swung at another nearby Phantom. Unlike the others, this one failed to respond in time and Excalibur carved right through her armour, she was dead within seconds.

Austin then attacked another Phantom, but this one had learned from the others mistake. The Phantom brought her blade up and blocked his. Before Austin could react in time, the Phantom kicked him in the stomach so hard that sent him onto the floor.

Shadow, her troops, and some of the Phantoms laughed at this. Austin however was quick to get back up and went back into a fighting stance. The Phantom that had just kicked him earlier swung her sword at him, but Austin parried this blow. Another Phantom attempted the same move, but she simply got the same consequence.

The other Phantom that had kicked Austin earlier attempted another attack, but she did at exactly the same time as Austin then switched to attacking the other Phantom right next to her. As the Phantom missed her strike, she nearly hit another Phantom, but this one just managed to block the blow.

The Phantom that Austin had attacked meanwhile had parried his attack and had managed to pin his sword to the side. This rendered Austin unable to move and the Phantom seized her chance. She smashed her wrist into Austin's helmet, causing him to stagger backwards. This time he didn't fall over, but it did disorient him a bit.

Despite his skills, Austin knew that he couldn't beat them all. Their where still 10 more of them, and only one of him. Then there was also Shadow, and the other Cerberus forces still on the balcony above him.

As Austin managed to counter a lunge from another Phantom, causing her to be thrown into another Phantom and knocking them both to the ground, he noticed the supports to the balcony. A well placed plasma shot might just collapse it, and maybe… just maybe, he could free the others.

As he managed to cut down another Phantom, Austin activated his plasma cannon and aimed it at the support. He didn't have a clear shot, but he didn't have much choice. Hoping that it would hit, Austin fired.

The plasma shot through the air and just managed to hit the support. It slowly cracked and bent and the whole balcony gave way. It tumbled to the ground in a massive heap of rubble.

All the other Phantom's where left rather stumped by this and simply pointed their swords at Austin.

Shadow punched her way out of the wreckage. Several of her troops also followed, but there was no sign of Alpha Squad or Sarah. Austin smiled under his helmet. It looked as though it had worked. Now he just had to wait for the right moment.

"Well played, Shepard. Even I wouldn't have thought of that in this sort of situation." Said Shadow as she kicked away more of the debris until she was free.

The Phantom's still didn't do anything and waited for their mistress's order. Austin and Shadow now circled one another.

"I've had enough of this now, Azula. Stop hiding behind all these soldiers and fight me yourself. Or are you too much of a coward now?!" Austin taunted.

"Proud and insolent youth!" Shadow growled as her left hand reached for her sword.

Shadow's blade was not as fine as Excalibur. In fact, hers was more the usual sword that Phantom's where given. The blade was specially infused with some biotics powers though which enabled Shadow to throw it and summon back with her biotic powers.

"Prepare to meet thy doom." Said the Phantom as she drew her sword out of it's holster and pointed it at Austin.

Austin attacked first and swung at Shadow. The Phantom immediately parried the attack with her blade and attempted a counter attack by extending the knives out of her cyborg and swinging at Austin. The Helldiver however brought the blade on his elbow up just in time to block the attack.

That however didn't stop Shadow and she gave Austin a violent push and he smashed against the wall. Austin however was quick to recover from this and he jumped at Shadow, stabbing at her in the process.

The Phantom parried around the attack and threw Austin away. Immediately, the other Phantom's surrounded the Helldiver and pointed their swords at him.

"Leave him!" Shadow yelled before they could attack Austin. "He's mine!"

"Now!" Austin yelled.

As soon as the words left Austin's mouth, all of Alpha Squad and Sarah suddenly jumped out of the shadows and started fighting the Cerberus troopers.

Despite that all of her forces where now being attacked however, Shadow didn't let up and lunged another strike at Austin. Their duel continued amongst all the other fights until they ended up in a blade lock with one another.

"This ends here, Shepard! Only one of us will walk away from this fight." Said Shadow.

"Very well then, Azula. Ready to lose the other one?" Austin taunted.

"Not this time!" Shadow growled, and she pushed Austin off of her before going back into her fighting stance.

Austin found Shadow to be a lot more challenging this time round. When they had last fought, Shadow had used her right hand, hence why Austin had cut it off. Now she was fighting with her left and her skills seemed even better than before. The only logical conclusion could be that Shadow was ambidextrous, so she had not really need to relearn her skills again, she had just had to get used to using her left hand to duel now.

The two blades clashed against one another so hard that each strike drew sparks. While Shadow was more aggressive in her strikes, she was very light on her feet, plus her martial arts training and slim form gave her the added speed that she needed. Austin on the other hand had more experience with fencing. He usually did compared to his opponents. He maintained a calm and controlled speed as he swung, thrust and parried at Shadow. He also had a bit more strength than her, so his strikes had the same amount of force as hers. Austin's armour also gave him a slightly better reflex advantage than Shadow, so he was able to keep up with her speed.

Overall, both where evenly matched opponents. Whatever weaknesses one of them had, worked to the other's strength, and whatever strengths they had, worked to the others weaknesses. It was almost as though they where perfect mirrors of one another.

As the rest of the fighting continued around them, Austin kept trying to think of something.

" _Her advantage: Her cybernetics. My advantage: Her rage."_ Austin said in his head as he missed a hard blow from Shadow.

Shadow then attempted a low swing at Austin's middle section. The Helldiver narrowly managed to avoid this by performing an awfully complex move that he'd learned from Xun a long time ago. Just as Shadow's swing got close, Austin seemed to just roll right over his opponent. Now he was behind her. Before he could attempt to attack Shadow from behind however, the Phantom whirled around and, her cybernetic hand clenched into a fist. Austin had only just enough time to dodge under it as her cyborg arm swept over him and punched away a huge chunk of a pillar behind him.

Once again behind Shadow, Austin attempted a swinging strike at her, but the Phantom reacted fast. Shadow brought her cybernetic right arm up in defence as Excalibur swung at her. There was a metallic clang as her cyborg wrist blocked the sword.

Shadow couldn't help but be rather unnerved by this. If she'd still had her proper right arm now, she would've lost it again with that move. Plus, that had been very close to her helmet. Another second too soon or to late and Excalibur might have also cost her another eye.

"Cut it rather close there, didn't I?" Austin taunted.

"Shut up!" Shadow yelled as she pushed her cyborg wrist forward, as well as Austin blade and made a swing at him with her own. The Helldiver managed to block it. He then went for another attack at Shadow, but the Phantom his wrist and pushed it to one side. As she made a very high lunge at him however, Austin brought his blade up just in time and pushed the attack away.

The two opponents exchanged several glancing blows, swipes, lunges and parries at one another as they moved back and forth across the room as the rest of the battle with Cerberus continued around them.

Another downward strike at Shadow from Austin missed it's target, allowing the Phantom the chance at an opening. She brought her blade above her head in both hands and went to bring it down on the Helldiver. Austin however brought his left arm up and it blocked Shadow's arms. As he pushed the Phantom off, Austin made another swing at his opponent. Shadow returned this with an upward swing, but Austin quickly turned out of the way. Shadow was quick with her reflexes though and she then changed the upward swing to a downward one. Austin also reacted fast though and whirled around again. He pushed hard with Excalibur as Shadow brought blade down on his with such force.

The two opponents once again glared at each other through their lock and through their helmets. From inside his Helldiver helmet, Austin risked a few glances at some of the other Helldivers.

Liara was duelling with another Phantom with her sword. Both her and the Phantom where evenly matched with sword training, but Liara was slightly better, plus her biotics where way more powerful. Biotics that Liara was putting to very good use.

Alaara and Sandra where fighting off both another Phantom and a Nemesis, Kraan and X-5 where concentrating on the mechs, Ventra and Garrus had stuck to the high ground and where shooting with their snipers. Leena was also up top with the snipers as she used one of her auto turrets and Dash was fighting with several Cerberus troopers alongside Griffin. Sarah meanwhile was duelling with a Centurion using her omni blade. The N7 marine didn't do fencing like her brother, but she had learned a few tricks from him. Tricks that she was putting to good use against the Centurion.

Austin pushed Shadow off of him. The Phantom whirled around and the two simply glared at one another as Austin advanced slowly on Shadow and she backed away slightly.

Austin then made a high lunge at Shadow's head, but she moved her head back before the sword touched her. Shadow then swung up at Excalibur and her blade met Austin's once again. Shadow kept pushing as she attempted to parry Excalibur out of Austin's hand. The Helldiver however did not let go.

Still the duel continued as Helldiver and Phantom battled back and forth across the spot where the pylons where. From the looks of things, everyone else was holding their own quite well against Cerberus. Liara in particular was now duelling with two Phantoms at the same time. Austin would need to remember to try and spar with her again when he could find the time.

The shear speed of the duel was almost a blur as the two struck violently, swung their swords at one another, and parried each other's attacks.

A small twist from Shadow's wrist caused Austin's blade to end up a bit too far out and Shadow kicked him. The Phantom lunged at the Helldiver as he spun, but Austin still managed to block Shadow's attacks.

Irritated by this, Shadow made a two handed swing at Austin, but the Helldiver managed to stop spinning just in time and blocked the attack with his own two handed defence. The Helldiver then swung at Shadow, but she dodged it and used her cyborg hand to punch Austin very hard in the helmet.

As Austin whirled around from the punch however, he simply punched Shadow back and she too spun as she was knocked back. The two opponents simply glared at one another for a long time before Shadow finally struck again. Austin countered several of Shadow's strikes and even just managed to block the Phantom's other attack as she tried to elbow him in the face.

Austin pushed Shadow away which caused the Phantom to end up facing away from her opponent. Austin saw this as huge opportunity and he lunged at the Phantom. Rather surprisingly though, Shadow still managed to block and parry the blows, even with her back turned.

Shadow then whirled round again and the now struck back at Austin properly. Once again though, Austin dodged or parried her attacks. He could no longer deny that he was starting to break a sweat a bit. This didn't come as too much of a surprise though. Shadow had always been his most challenging opponent.

Shadow made a side thrust at Austin, but the Helldiver parried it away. He then grabbed Shadow blade arm and attempted to swing at Shadow's head. The Phantom managed to stop it, but Excalibur got extremely close to her helmet. Shadow pushed the blade away with all her might and gave Austin a very sharp kick in the helmet.

Austin staggered back very far and ended up I some of the destroyed scaffolding of the destroyed balcony.

Shadow slowly made her way towards him, scraping the end of her sword on the ground as she did so. The Phantom once again swung at Austin and the duel resumed. Due to the confined space, both opponents' swords left scratches and marks all over the place as they duel underneath and inside the scaffolding, which eventually resulted in Austin managing to kick Shadow against a nearby ladder. The Phantom moved out of the way however just as Austin attempted a downward strike on her and Excalibur ended up severing the already broken ladder in half.

Shadow backed away very slowly as Austin advanced on her, both opponents ready to strike again. The fighting all around them was now heating up. Liara had managed to kill one of the Phantoms she'd been duelling with and was now fighting the other one back to back with Sarah, who was also still fighting the Centurion with her omni blade.

Austin once again lunged at Shadow with Excalibur, the Phantom countered all the attacks but the final two handed one knocked her back. Austin swung again at her, but she ducked right under it.

Once again, the two opponents glared at one another for a long moment, waiting for the other to make the first move. Shadow then made a very surprising move as she swung upwards, scraping her sword against the ground and chucking sparks at her opponent in the process.

As Austin was temporarily blinded by the sparks, Shadow locked blades with him and pushed him right up against the wall. Both opponents' swords scratched violently against the wall and left very deep marks.

Austin managed to push Shadow off but she once again lunged at him. As both opponents duelled against wall, they seemed to cause all sorts of different marks. Finally though, Shadow's elbow connected sharply with the Helldivers helmet and he staggered back into the clear. Still neither side was gaining the advantage. The Helldivers where good, but it seemed as though Cerberus was just as good. Austin could only hope by some miracle that he managed to kill Shadow. Without her, the rest of Cerberus probably wouldn't fight so well without their leader.

* * *

Sarah was starting to sweat inside her N7 armour. The Centurion she was fighting against was putting up a very hard fight which was starting to tire her out. She might have been good with an omni blade, but she was nowhere near as good as her brother.

Suddenly, the Centurion gave her a very violent kick, sending her flying into another room connected with the large generator room. Sarah struggled to get back up as the Centurion followed her through the hole.

Just as the Centurion readied for a strike however, the whole place suddenly shook. Sarah immediately froze as this happened. No! Surely it couldn't be happening again!

But sure enough, Sarah could see a large shadow through a nearby doorway being cast by a unseen creature just around the corner. Sarah knew that shadow immediately. It was Experiment 13! The noise of all the fighting was obviously attracting it, not to mention how hungry it must be for live prey.

All of this was happening behind the Centurion, so he didn't see it. But he too froze when he started to hear 13's heavy breathing. Sarah remembered what her brother had read about 13's movement based vision and remained absolutely still. The Centurion on the other hand, slowly turned around. Although he did it very slowly, that was still enough for 13 to see him as the creature slowly rose up to its full height on its second pair of arms right in front of the Cerberus soldier.

The Centurion was petrified as he looked in shock at the massive creature standing in front of him. 13 snarled at the Centurion as he froze, the freeze however was only temporary and the Centurion threw his gun up and pointed it at 13. The Experiment however moved just as fast and thrust one of its hands forward. The spike stabbed right through the Centurion's armour and also came out the back as well. Sarah did her best to look away as some of the Centurion's blood sprayed onto her armour.

The Centurion grimaced in pain as 13 hoisted him up to eye level. He was now helpless in the grip of this savage creature. 13 gave a hungry snarl which sounded almost like an evil grin as it bore all three rows of its razor sharp teeth. Despite the Experiment's lifeless eyes, it looked hungry.

The Centurion struggled violently to free himself as he got closer and closer literally to the jaws of death. Surprisingly, 13 did seem a bit put off by the Centurion's struggles, but this was short lived as the Experiment's other hand closed around the Centurion's neck and snapped it.

Sarah immediately shut her eyes and looked away as the Centurion went limp in 13's hands. This would not be a pleasant sight.

Sure enough, 13's mouth opened wide and it started eating. Sarah could hear the loud sounds of crunching armour, bones being broken, teeth cleaving through flesh, and the very disturbing sound of 13 feasting hungrily on the Centurion.

After several painful seconds, Sarah risked a quick glance. 13 had ripped off the Centurion's entire left arm, a massive part of the chest, the head, and even had a the other arm dangling by a small flesh strand.

Sarah quickly looked away from the sight, fearing that she might be sick at the sight. She looked at 13's shadow instead. As she looked however, 13 seemed to start acting odd. It sounded as though it was sniffing the air or trying to listen. Then it looked through the hole she'd been kicked through before.

Sarah's eyes widened with horror as she realized what the Experiment was doing. It was still being attracted by all the fighting in the reactor room. 13 gave another snarl as it slowly made its way through the hole, still carrying the mutilated Centurion body.

* * *

The fighting still continued inside the core room. Alpha Squad where holding their ground, but Cerberus was still putting up a fight. Austin and Shadow meanwhile where still duelling. Neither one of them was winning and Austin was starting to tire.

The two ended up in another blade lock and tried desperately to push each other back. The two enemies glared at one another.

"So what now, Shepard?" Shadow panted slightly. "We be two even matched opponents locked in an epic battle until judgement day?"

"Or you could surrender?" Austin suggested.

Shadow did not take kindly to this and pushed even harder. Before things could go any further however, a sudden scream of pain distracted them both. Experiment 13 had burst through the window and had caught one of the Phantoms in its jaws.

Both Austin and Shadow temporarily separated as they watched the Experiment. The other Cerberus troops seemed to panic at the sight of this monster but somehow they still seemed to want to continue fighting. On the plus side though, this did confuse manage to confuse 13 slightly as it's movement based vision was rather stumped by all the fighting and the Experiment had trouble distinguishing everything properly.

The Experiment emitted a blood curdling roar and entered the fray. Ventra immediately took notice of 13. He quickly detached his bow from his sniper so it was now just a bow, and took an arrow out of the special quiver on his back. Within seconds, he sighted along the arrow and released the string.

The arrow shot right at Experiment 13's hide and pierced the Experiment's skin, but somehow it didn't seem to hurt. 13 only uttered a simple grunt of pain rather than a scream. Rather unluckily, the Experiment even seemed to know where the arrow had been fired from and it swung both its main arms at the balcony. Garrus and Ventra just managed to get out of the way in time, Ventra managing to grab Leena in the process as 13's arm smashed through the entire balcony and brought it tumbling to the floor.

Ventra ended up right at 13's feet, and unfortunately for him, 13 saw him. Just as the creature prepared to attack however, the chain that appeared to be hanging around its neck tightened. Griffin and Dash had managed to get a hold of it and where now pulling as hard as they could on it. Fortunately, this seemed to do the trick and 13 now turned its attention to them instead.

Griffin ducked to avoid 13's swing, but Dash didn't react fast enough and the Experiment's arm knocked him half way across the room. Dash smashed rather hard into a wall and was left temporarily disorientated. So much so that he failed to notice a Phantom standing right over him, and with her sword in hand.

Griffin however, saw this just in time. Quick as he could, the targeting reticule appeared inside his helmet. It locked onto the Phantom and Griffin wasted no time in firing. Griffin's dual shoulder cannons flipped out from behind his back and they fired two large balls of plasma.

The Phantom only just noticed this in time before the plasma hit her and she screamed as it practically dissolved her.

Dash slowly got up as he managed to clear his senses. He simply nodded to Griffin as a sign of thanks. The demolition expert nodded back.

Experiment 13 meanwhile had abandoned the two Helldivers and had now gone back to picking off some of Cerberus forces. During the whole commotion, Kraan and X-5 had been dealing with some of the more heavily armed troopers. Unfortunately for them however, that was group that 13 was now attacking.

Both Kraan and X-5 continued fighting as they tried desperately to dodge the swings from 13's large arms. Instead, the attacks ended up killing the lesser armoured Cerberus troopers. 13 smashed several of them aside before it smashed one that managed to topple Kraan to the ground.

13 also noticed this and prepared to crush the Krogan with it's arm. Before it could however, Ventra saw this. Ventra quickly took two arrows from his quiver and aimed at 13. He knew this wouldn't kill the Experiment, but it would at least give Kraan enough time to get out of the way. Ventra released the string and both arrows shot at their target.

Experiment 13 roared in pain as the two arrows pierced its flesh, causing it to stagger backwards and away from Kraan, who quickly got back on his feet.

The rest of the fighting was still happening throughout the entire room. Ventra in particular was now on a slightly higher ground and was fighting with two troopers. The two sharp blades on his bow came in very handy for this and he also had a large combat knife on his back. Just as he cut down one of the troopers and stabbed the other one however, he saw 13 looking up right at him. It seemed the Experiment had seen him moving earlier and it lunged at him. The Experiment's massive jaws snapped several times at the Turian Helldiver as he managed to avoid the rows of teeth.

Just as he tried to run however, he tripped on a loose bit of metal. 13 now had a clear shot at him and its mouth started heading at him. Just before the teeth touched him however, 13's head suddenly pulled back. The chain had got caught on something.

Ventra immediately saw this as an opening. Ignoring the slight pain in in his shoulder from falling on it, Ventra ran at the Experiment's head and climbed up. 13 immediately tried to shake the Turian off, but with the chain holding it against the balcony, those efforts where in vain.

Ventra wasted no time in taking another arrow and aiming right at where 13's brain was. As he released the string however and the arrow shot at 13's hide however, something rather surprising happened. Instead of going through, the arrow simply bounced off. Although it left a mark ad 13 did seem to emit a small howl of pain, it clearly hadn't done any significant damage. Ventra had feared as much that 13's crest was too hard. He was beginning to doubt whether this thing could be killed now. That had probably been the only way of critically injuring 13, anything else didn't seem to hurt it, not even bullets.

Ventra knew that he had now just made 13 even angrier, and he quickly jumped off the creatures head, just as it gave a very violent pull and the chain around its neck broke completely. The Experiment took a moment to regain its bearings. Then it noticed one particular figure among the fighting. Shadow.

Shadow was rather unnerved by the sight of this abomination, but it took more than that to frighten her. She calmly stood her ground and activated the plasma cannon in her cyborg arm as 13 snarled at her. She aimed at 13 and pulled the trigger. However, instead of a bolt of plasma cannon firing out, nothing happened and there was nothing but a clicking sound.

Shadow looked down at the plasma cannon and opened up a small compartment on it. It was empty. Shadow found this extremely odd. Where had the plasma cores gone?

"Lost something?" she heard a voice say.

Shadow looked to see Austin standing on one of the high levels holding two glowing bullet like objects in his hand.

"Bastard!" Shadow swore, realizing that Shepard had done the exact same thing that she'd done earlier when she'd taken the thermal clip out of his gun. To make matters even worse for her, 13 had seen the movements she'd made and it was now on to her. The Experiment snarled at the Phantom and lunged at her, Shadow reflexes however enabled her to dodge 13's massive jaws as they snapped at her.

As 13's teeth just managed to miss her, Shadow swung her sword at the Experiment's head. To her surprise however, although the sword hit 13's crest, it didn't cause any damage whatsoever. All it did was just leave a scratch and sparks, but no blood. Rather to Shadow fright even, 13 almost seemed to smile and make an attempt on what could very easily seem like a laugh.

13 once again snarled at Shadow and snapped at her several times. The Phantom's agility enabled her to dodge the Experiment, but only just. Shadow had fought several opponents in her time, but this… creature was something else.

13 snapped at the Phantom again. But this time, Shadow jumped onto the Experiment's head. 13 struggled violently to shake the Phantom off, but she hung on very tightly.

Austin watched from the higher levels as Experiment 13 attempted to shake Shadow off of its head. He wanted for him and the others to run, but at the same time he felt that his was wrong.

13 then suddenly screamed in agony as Shadow stabbed her sword into its hide. At this, Austin knew that he couldn't let this happen. 13 may have been a vicious creature, but even it didn't deserve to die in this way. It was after all just an animal following it's instincts.

All the other Helldivers watched in shock as Austin took a running jump and leapt onto 13's back. Shadow noticed this and withdrew her sword from the Experiment's back. Somehow, the Experiment now seemed completely oblivious to the two opponents that where sword fighting on its back and it simply went back to hunting and killing the rest of Cerberus.

"He's mad!" said Dash to Griffin as the two continued fighting with the Cerberus troopers they'd been fighting.

Surprisingly, Griffin was doing very well at this. Because all the troopers where at close range, he couldn't really use his minigun on them. Instead he'd resorted to using it as melee weapon. The large blade on the front was proving very useful. Plus, Griffin was putting his larger gauntlet to good use as a punching hand.

"Think I'm getting the hang of this." He chuckled to Dash as he knocked away another Cerberus trooper with the minigun. Dash smiled back at him under his helmet, which was only interrupted when Griffin quickly pushed his head down to then punch a Nemesis in the head with is gauntlet.

Shadow had no more patience for Austin, especially in this situation. She made a low lunge at his legs, but the Helldiver's wrist turned with some skill and blocked her attack, making her stumble slightly. The Phantom quickly regained her balance and eyed her opponent. Austin beckoned to her with his sword. He wanted a challenge it seemed. So be it.

The two swordsmen exchanged a flurry of blows, parries, feints and ripostes on the back of Experiment 13, who was still completely oblivious to the sword fight on its back as it resumed its attack on the other Cerberus troopers.

Austin then accidently lost his balance for a moment and toppled over. Shadow seized her chance and delivered a lunging blow at Austin. Right at the last moment however, the Helldiver managed to get back up and blocked the Phantom's sword. The two ended up in a blade lock and kept trying to overpower each other with their strength.

"Still you fight like a young man. Eager to begin, quick to perish." Shadow snarled right before she delivered a swift punch to Austin's stomach.

The punch was so hard that it knocked Austin right off of 13's back and he hit the ground very hard. In fact the sheer weight of his armour left a rather large dent in the grated floor.

"Ha! I can read your every move!" Shadow laughed as she jumped down from Experiment 13's back and landed on her feet.

Austin was slowly getting back up but he was very dazed by the kick. His chest really hurt from landing on it. His senses where clear enough though that he could sense Shadow slowly approaching him from behind. This had gone far enough! Very carefully, his free hand gripped the handle of his combat knife and he gently withdrew it from its holster on his chest.

Shadow readied her blade for the finishing move to run the Helldiver right through. Just as she brought her blade down however, Austin swung round and knocked the Phantom's attack aside with Excalibur. Shadow wasn't phased by this, but that was before Austin's other arm thrust right at her. She only too late noticed the combat knife in his hand right as it carved right through her armour and straight into her heart.

"Read this… bitch!" Austin growled right as he then ran Shadow through with Excalibur as well.

Shadow simply looked in horror at the two blades impaled in her chest. All she could do was stare at Austin's Helldiver helmet as she felt the life leave her and her vision went dark.

Austin withdrew both the knife and Excalibur from Shadow's chest and watched the dying Phantom stagger back slightly, clutching the wound in her chest which was now leaking lot of blood.

What happened next took Austin completely by surprise. Experiment 13 suddenly grabbed Shadow in its jaws and hauled her up into the air. Shadow could only scream in agony as 13 shook it's head from side to side so violently that the Phantom's lower half was literally torn away from her body.

13 swallowed the upper half, then scooped up the other half in its mouth and swallowed. Although he couldn't tell for certain, Austin was sure that 13 had enjoyed the taste.

The Helldiver couldn't help but smile slightly as he breathed a sigh of relief. Shadow was finally dead and he really doubted that she'd make a surprise comeback again. He seriously doubted that the Phantom could survive being ripped in half.

Austin made sure to stay absolutely still as 13 looked around slightly. The Experiment still looked hungry for more live prey. Painfully long seconds passed as 13 looed in Austin's direction. Then 13 started looking elsewhere.

Just as it did however, there was rather large explosion very near to Austin causing him to stagger to the side slightly from the force. Austin looked in the explosions location to see that Griffin had fired a plasma shot in his direction by accident since the demolition expert had a Nemesis wrestling with him with one of her hands trying to grab at his plasma cannon.

Austin relaxed for a moment, but then he realised that he'd moved.

"Oh crap." He groaned as he saw 13 drew itself up to its full height, then it snarled and roared at him.

All Austin could do now was run and dodge 13's jaws. He had no idea how he was supposed to kill this thing. Nearly everything they'd tried had failed. 13 also seemed to be snapping at the other Helldivers as well. There were no more Cerberus troopers in the reactor room now, so they were the only food the Experiment could have now. As Austin now knew, 13 always preferred to eat its prey while they still alive.

Suddenly, Austin felt his foot slip and he tumbled to the ground.

13 stood over the stumbled Helldiver who was trying to get back up. He couldn't get a good grip on the floor. Something on the floor was making it very slippery. Just as 13 opened its jaws to grab the Helldiver though, a sharp pain suddenly surged from its neck. The experiment looked to see an arrow embedded in its neck.

13 looked to the source of the arrow to see Ventra once again on the high ledge from earlier.

"Over here you ugly bastard!" the Turian yelled.

13 roared angrily at the Helldiver and attempted to claw and bite at him as Ventra kept distracting the experiment long enough for Austin to get back up.

Austin eventually managed to get back on his feet. As he did, he looked at one of his hands. It was covered in oil. Austin then looked at the rest of the ground and saw that that too was covered in oil. It had leaked out of a nearby tank somewhere. It was at that moment that Austin suddenly remembered. 13 retreated from fire, and 13 had the perfect weapon for setting it alight.

"Ventra!" he yelled.

The Turian looked to Austin. Unfortunately, so too did Experiment 13. Austin quickly held up the hand that was covered in the oil so that Ventra could see.

"Light it!" he yelled.

Ventra nodded, immediately understanding. As 13 began snapping at Austin again, he took another arrow from his back. This time, he clicked a small switch on his bow and a flame lit up from a small muzzle on the end. The flame quickly ignited the tip of the arrow and Ventra now had a flaming arrow in his hand.

Ventra brought the string of his bow back to his chin, sighted along the arrow and waited. He was not going to fire until Austin was clear of the oil. If he got this wrong, he could just light Austin on fire.

"Anytime now!" Austin yelled worriedly as he managed to dodge 13's jaws.

13 waited just a little longer before he finally let the string loose and the arrow shot right at where 13's feet where about to be. Austin heard the shot and jumped, just as 13's jaws made another snap at him only to catch nothing but thin air.

13 saw Austin once again land on the floor. Just as it readied for a strike however, Ventra's arrow whizzed past it's face and the fiery tip made contact with the oil. Almost immediately, the oil ignited and a massive fire barrier immediately ignited right in front of the massive experiment. The massive barrier of fire just managed to separate Austin from 13 as the experiment skidded to a stop in front of the fire.

Sure enough, 13 seemed to look around desperately. The white slits retracted from over the eyes. They now looked worried, confused. As expected, the constant movement of the fire was confusing 13's vision. The Experiment did indeed now look and the verge of panicking. It roared at the fire in a vague attempt to make the fires retreat. Nothing happened. 13 started panicking even more and desperately tried roaring again, this time it's roar was more drawn out and almost in fright.

After several roars of fright, the Experiment knew that this barrier would not retreat. 13 slowly began retreating. In the process Ventra, who was still on the balcony, failed to notice that 13 was retreating his way. As 13 swung around to head away from the fire, it knocked one of the supports. Ventra lost his balance as the balconies support cracked.

"VENTRA!" Leena screamed as she watched the balcony collapse into the fire, taking Ventra with it.

13 gave one last mighty roar before it finally retreated into the shadows and disappeared from site. It was over.

"VENTRA!" Leena cried as she fell to her knees, almost on the point of tears.

Everyone else was completely speechless. They had just lost one of their own. They had never thought this would ever happen, considering all that they'd been through and survived. Especially Ventra. Ventra always had been the survivor of the group.

"I… I've lost him. And I never told him… I never told him anything…" Leena sobbed.

"Something I should know?" said a voice.

Everyone head's immediately turned to the source of the voice. There stood Ventra, rather singed from the fire, but definitely alive. To everyone's surprise, Leena then moved faster than she had ever done in her life as she got back up into her feet and flung herself at the Turian as she hugged him. The Turian was very surprised by this, but he quickly hugged the Quarian back.

"You were saying…" Ventra asked, surprised.

"It can wait." Said Leena, not willing to reveal her little secret in front of everyone else.

"You always where a survivor." Said Garrus as he patted Ventra on the back.

"You sure you're alright, Ventra? You look very burnt." Austin asked concernedly.

"I'm fine. My sniper though sadly wasn't so lucky." Ventra replied as he held up a very badly burnt sniper rifle. Even Austin could tell that the sniper was way beyond repair. His old one after all had suffered the same fate when he'd died two years ago.

Everyone looked rather sorry for Ventra, but the Turian didn't seem disappointed at all.

"I actually preferred the bow anyway. I'll think I'll just stick with that from now on. Besides, should let Garrus try and catch up." He said.

Garrus and Austin simply chuckled. Suddenly, there was the sound of a door opening. Everyone immediately whirled round, guns at the ready. Even Ventra tossed aside his now useless sniper rifle and once again unfolded the bow from his back and drew another arrow.

Rather than the expected Cerberus soldiers however, in the doorway was a single man carried a bloodied woman in his arms. Both had Cerberus logos on their uniforms.

"Please. Help her. She's going to die unless she gets medical attention." Jacob begged.

"They're both Cerberus. I say kill them." Said Alaara.

"Does it look like we're in any condition to stab you in the back. We'll do anything you want. Clap us in irons, take us prisoner. Hell! We both surrender. Just please help Miranda. I can't lose her." Jacob begged again.

Austin slowly lowered his M-76 Revenant.

"Alpha Squad, stand down. We do not kill a person when they have surrendered." He said.

"This is Cerberus you're talking about, Shepard. You honestly think they'd show us the same courtesy?!" said Alaara, slightly surprised that the Major would let two Cerberus troopers live.

"I hate them just as much as you do, Alaara. But you know the Helldiver code as well as I do. Plus, this is my call." Said Austin calmly.

"Yes sir." Alaara eventually replied. She did sound a bit reluctant though.

"Griffin, give Lawson some medi gel." Said Austin.

Griffin nodded in acknowledgement and gently took Miranda's unconscious body from Jacob.

"You, keep your hands where we can see them. I may have agreed to help you, but that still doesn't mean I trust you." Austin continued.

A few minutes passed as Griffin and Sarah worked on applying the medi gel to Miranda's wounds. Eventually, the bleeding stopped and the wounds slowly sealed back up.

Miranda groaned slightly as she opened her eyes. Jacob knelt down next to her.

"What? Where am I?" Miranda groaned.

"You're still in Arturus station. Relax, you're in safe hands now, Miranda Lawson." Austin replied.

"Helldiver Company isn't what I would call safe hands." Miranda wheezed as she clutched her side in pain.

"Hey! Be nice! We just save your life, Miss." Said Griffin harshly.

"Don't talk to her like that." Jacob objected.

"You looking for a problem?" Griffin asked challengingly.

"Well, I found you didn't I?" Jacob replied rudely.

That immediately threw Griffin over the edge and he lunged at Jacob. The two wrestled with one another before the rest of Alpha Squad managed to separate them.

"Enough! Both of you!" Austin yelled as Griffin and Jacob where pried apart. The Major turned first to the demolition expert. "Griffin, calm down!" He ordered sternly. He then turned to Jacob. "And you, you're practically our prisoner now. So you'd better watch who you talk to like that!"

"I apologise." Jacob replied coldly.

"Wait, I know you. You're that Jacob Taylor bastard, aren't you?!" said Sarah.

"You know him?" Austin asked, surprised.

"Not personally. He was an Alliance corsair a few years ago. He defected to Cerberus a few weeks after the Geth attacked Eden Prime." Sarah explained, giving Jacob a cold look as she said it.

"I choice I'm now beginning to regret." The man replied.

"Really? You regret joining Cerberus? You expect us to believe that?!" said Alaara sarcastically.

"Listen, I have a proposal for you all." Said Jacob.

"Make it quick then. I have little patience for Cerberus." Said Austin.

And with that, Jacob voiced his proposal to Alpha Squad. His proposal, of defection.

* * *

**Best that I stop it here. I should have Chapter 18 up soon. I promise you now that the wait for that one will not be as long. I'll admit now that I did get a bit of writers block while writing this and I just needed a break. Now it's gone and I'm fully motivated to get back to writing.**

**See you soon. Just like to say also, Shadow won't be making a comeback anymore. She's definitely dead. I can also say that Experiment 13 will make a n appearance in ME3 as well. I was going to kill him off at the end, but I've come up with a much better idea that allows him to live.  
**

**Anyway, hope you've enjoyed this, and see you soon!**


	18. Chapter 18, To Recruit a Quarian

**I'm quite impressed that I managed to get this one done so quickly. It seems that new technique I've found is working well. I've found that just writing the dialogue first (which I have to do from the games or Youtube since I don't remember the dialogue word for word) and then filling in the descriptive bits is just somehow quicker.**

**Please enjoy. Next chapter as you know will be Kasumi's loyalty mission. I'm planning for that one to be a lot fun. And you'll hopefully see why at the end of this chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 18**

**To Recruit a Quarian**

It had been almost a week now since the incident on Krelldoor. Jacob's proposal had been that he and Miranda defected to Cerberus in exchange for what they knew. Miranda had completely resisted the idea at first, but Jacob had eventually convinced her that the Illusive Man had been keeping things from her since even she had not known about Experiment 13. Just after they had left, Austin had made sure that the base was destroyed.

Miranda and Jacob where currently in Helldiver custody where the Arkanes would interrogate them for all that they knew on Cerberus. After that, Austin had insisted that they be assigned to his command so that he could keep an eye on them both. Austin also had some doubts about leaving them on Arkadia ever since he had heard about the escape of the Batarian, Balak, about a year ago.

In the meantime though, the Major had plenty to keep him busy. He still had two more team members to recruit and there were also the two missions that Kasumi and Zaeed needed doing. At the moment, Austin planned to recruit Tali first, then get Kasumi's mission done, then recruit Thane Krios. That would hopefully allow them to make good progress while they waited for the ex-Cerberus agents to join them.

Sarah meanwhile had been given full permission from the Alliance to serve on the Normandy. Anderson himself had approved this and the Arkanes were also in full support of Austin's own sister joining the mission. Austin and Sarah's father, Matt, had also approved of this. In particular he was overjoyed to know that his son was alive. An earlier vidcom message with him had evens aid that he and his wife Hannah would look forward to seeing him in person again once Austin's mission was over.

While they were on their way to Haestrom, Austin decided to simply pass the time by once again chatting with his crew. He remembered that he hadn't yet chatted with Samara and that was something he'd been meaning to do.

Sure enough, he found her in the port observation deck where she'd been put. She was currently meditating as she looked out of the window and she was maintaining a biotic ball of energy as her eyes glowed. As the door closed behind him, Samara sensed Austin's presence.

"Shepard." She said.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you, Samara." Said Austin.

"Not at all. What do you wish of me?" the Justicar replied kindly.

One thing that Austin really liked about Samara was that she was always so polite. Mind you, Justicars usually where.

"I thought we could chat for a bit. How are you?" he asked.

"I've spent the much of the last 400 years on my own. It is nice to have a colleague to chat with." Samara replied. The Asari smiled as her biotics dispersed and her eyes returned to normal. Austin walked up to her and knelt down beside her. "I may be rusty at it, however. If you are patient, I would love to talk."

"You've settled in okay, I take it?" Austin asked.

"Quite well. Your ship is very comfortable and the view of space in this room is just what I needed." Samara replied. Her face then turned to curiosity. "I have something to ask you, Shepard." She said.

"Okay. Ask away." Austin replied, now curious as to what Samara would ask him.

"I have noticed that your Helldiver team does not seem very surprised by my presence. Most parties I have worked with have no experience with Justicars and have often been nervous around me. Your squad on the other hand is completely the opposite. I have to ask, have you worked with a Justicar before?" Samara asked.

"We have actually. It was around 5 years ago." Austin replied.

"Do tell. I am most curious." Said Samara.

Austin went on explaining about a mission he and Alpha Squad had undertaken around 5 years ago. They had recently been investigating the disappearance of a Helldiver team on Thessia. Eventually, they had uncovered a few leads as to who was behind the disappearances. When they had snuck into an Eclipse base, they had soon found that they weren't the only ones investigating. A Justicar was also there. This one had been rather different to Samara. She'd been slightly younger at the time and her outfit had been more armour like compared to the Justicar sitting in front of him now.

The Justicar eventually suggested that she and Alpha Squad team up to help find their target together. The Squad had accepted, but had been nervous at first. They'd all been taught about Justicars during their Helldiver training on Asari cultures, but they hadn't been told much. Very little was actually known about them to the public. To Alpha's delight though, the Justicar they had worked with had been extremely polite to them all. She had even struck up a good friendship with them during her time working with them. She also hadn't hesitated to provide more information on Justicars and their order. This new knowledge had not only proved most helpful for the Helldivers but it had also allowed them to improve teaching by giving this knowledge to the Arkanes.

Eventually, they'd both had to go their separate ways, but the Justicar had said that she'd never worked with finer worriers and had even learned a few new things herself. Now days, Alpha Squad practically owed it all to her for their enlightenment.

Samara was quite impressed once Austin finished telling the story.

"That is most impressive, Shepard. Your squad certainly do live up to their legendary reputation." She said.

"Glad you think so. I'm honoured to be in command of such fine soldiers." Austin smiled.

"As am I. Your Asari second in command, Alaara came to talk with me a few days back as well. It was certainly interesting to hear her story. Especially when she mentioned that she was once an Eclipse merc." Said Samara.

For a moment, Austin's face turned to concern.

"That's not going to cause problems with you, is it? I don't want any trouble between you two." He asked.

"You need not worry, Shepard. Although my code compels me to kill those who do wrong, the code does permit forgiveness and redemption. Alaara told me of how much she regrets joining the Eclipse and how she always strives to redeem herself by serving as a Helldiver. Even after my oath to you ends, I will not attempt to kill her. The same applies to your other team mates as well, such as the ex-Blue Suns and ex-Blood Pack. Each one of them seeks to absolve themselves of their sins and wrong doings. That is a trait I find most admirable. It also helps me see other Helldivers in a new light." Samara replied gently.

"I'm glad to hear that." Said Austin. H then decided to ask Samara some questions. He did after all have a few things he wished to talk about with her. "So, how much do you know about our mission?" he asked.

"I know that I've sworn an oath to follow you, and that you seek to destroy the Collectors. That is enough for me." Samara replied.

"You don't want to know why the Collectors need to be fought?" Austin asked, surprised.

"When you live by a code that compels you to harsh action, you learn the dangers of curiosity. If I must kill a man because he has done wrong, do I really wish to know that he is a devoted father?" Samara replied.

Austin took a moment to consider this. He had to admit, Samara did have a point. How many times had he probably killed some wrong doers who had family? It was beginning to occur to him how the Justicar code and Helldiver code shared many similarities.

"I'd like to hear more about the criminal you were chasing on Nos Astra." He said.

Samara seemed to hesitate for a while. There was uncomfortable look on her face before she finally spoke again.

"I hope you will understand if I wish to avoid the topic. It is a deeply tied to my code and beliefs. You might say it is personal." She said.

"I understand, Samara. So, what do you think of the Helldivers?" Austin asked as he changed the subject.

"I have heard many impressive stories, and many other rumours. But I learned long ago to form my own impressions. There is too much room for interpretation in the opinions of others." Said Samara.

"Then why were you willing to work for the Helldivers when you didn't have first-hand knowledge?" Austin asked.

"I work for you, Shepard. Our methods may be different, but our goals are not." Samara smiled.

Austin smiled back. He eventually decided that he and Samara had talked long enough and that he should let her return to her meditations. There were a few of the other crew members he wanted to talk to and check up on anyway.

"Thank you for the talk, Samara. I should get back to work." He said as he stood up.

"It has been my pleasure, Major." Said Samara as her biotics resumed once again.

Before he headed down to chat with Grunt, Austin headed into the med bay. He hadn't chatted Dr. Chakwas since he'd had that drink with her that had eventually given him that sexual dream with Kelly.

"Major, I really enjoyed sharing that ice brandy with you, but I hope I wasn't too unprofessional. Brandy goes straight to my head." She said.

"It's nice to see you let your hair down, Karin." Austin smiled.

"Guess, I hadn't realized how much those feelings needed airing. But, I didn't give you much of a chance to vent. So tell me now – what do you think?" Chakwas asked.

"Everyone is depending on us. We won't let them down. Not many people get a second chance like I did. I intend to make the most of it." Said Austin.

"They just don't make them like you anymore in the Alliance, Shepard. Well, promise me we'll share a bottle every year. The next one's on me." Said Chakwas. As she finished talking, her chair swivelled back around and she went back to her work.

* * *

"Shepard." Said Grunt as he acknowledged Austin's presence.

"Just checking in, making sure you're acclimatizing." Said Austin.

"Heh… I was just… heh… just sitting here thinking. The picture, I'm finally starting to get it. There's a tank imprint - the battle at Canrum. A dead Turian. Stripped! You don't see them out of their armour much. A Krogan boot on his head. And a claw hammer. It's under the brow plate, pulling it back, right? Eyes have gone black, and you see tension in the muscle. You can feel it ready to snap. I get it." Said Grunt.

"Hmmm, Canrum isn't ringing a bell…" said Austin.

"Death of Shiagur, female warlord. Turians killed her, so they were hunted down and made examples. Even if they won the war. It was the last push before the rebellions ended." Grunt explained.

"Maybe I had to be there, but I don't get the joke." Said Austin as he crossed his arms.

"There's no joke – it's just great. It's a Turian and he's being torn apart for what they did. I felt nothing before, but now I get it – it was a good fight. The enemy was destroyed to punish them all and send a message. I get it. I hate Turian. I thought you'd be glad." Said Grunt, excitedly.

"Don't start anything with Garrus or Ventra! I won't have trouble among this team!" said Austin forcefully.

"I don't hate Garrus or Ventra. I hate the Turians. Garrus and Ventra re just two Turians, and they're your clan. No point in ripping off their faces off unless they turn on me. It's hate, it's mine. Okeer was blind, and he tried to make me the same. But I'm starting to feel what they did. To see why I should care. Anyway, I'm still figuring where I fit, but it made me laugh. Nothing else really on my mind, Shepard." Said Grunt.

Austin simply nodded and decided to leave the tank bred Krogan be. The Helldiver walked out of the room and headed down to Jack's pit. To his surprise, Jack had changed her attire. Instead of just her combat trousers and the straps over her chest, she had now added a small black vest with a biker like jacket over it. In addition to this, she'd also added a few black covers over her left arm and she also had a visor over her eyes. Her trousers were also now replaced by low-slung jeans, and steel-toe boots.

Austin was grateful at least that she'd covered up now. A lot of the crew had been distracted by the fact she'd been almost completely topless.

"Hey, Shepard. Was beginning to wonder when you'd come down again." Said the convict as she noticed Austin.

"Hmmm, is there something different about you?" Austin asked in a joking manner.

"Decided to get some new attire. I know that the rest of the crew keeping staring at my tits, and I've had enough. Felt it best to cover up a bit more. You okay with that?" Jack replied.

"Yeah. You look very badass in that, I think. People are still gonna take you seriously I think." Austin approved.

"Good. Anyone who fucks with me is still gonna end up dead." Jack smiled smugly.

"So, what are you up to?" Austin asked.

"Still checking out your ship. Wouldn't mind putting her through her paces when you're not around." Jack replied as she got up from her makeshift bed.

"I doubt Joker or Alaara would appreciate that." Said Austin sternly. "At least not while we're working."

"Relax. Joy riding doesn't have the thrill it used to. Besides, if I wanted it, I'd take it." Said Jack.

"That so?" Austin replied.

"I've been around. Ran with gangs, wiped out some gangs, joined cult. Kept the haircut. I learned how to survive and not be a victim." Said Jack.

"It's hard to imagine you in a cult. That usually involves a lot of rules." Said Austin.

"I was looking for answers. Drugs and sex and going to a better place. A better place, right." Jack tutted. "It was all about money. They wanted to take a colony, shake the suckers down to the fund their spread, and guess who was their ace in the hole? They were just like the rest. Didn't give one shit about me!"

"What did you do when you found out?" Austin asked.

"What do you think?" Jack replied.

Austin immediately understood and didn't press the issue further.

"You must've met some good people too." He said.

"Everybody wants something. And because of that, everything is fair game. Murder, assault, kidnapping, drugs, dealing, arson, done 'em all. And that's just the boring shit. Piracy as you know, theft of military craft, destruction of a space station, and vandalism. That was a good one." Said Jack.

"You ever wonder if you could've done things differently?" Austin asked.

"No."

"Shouldn't you?"

"There's no reason I should be alive, but I am. You know why? Instinct. It's worked for em so far and I'm not gonna change." Said Jack.

Jack then stood back up from leaning against the pillar.

"Hey, Shepard. No one's asked me about this shit. It's strange to talk about. So don't make it a habit. Save that crap for Chambers." She said.

"You've been talking with Kelly?" Austin asked.

"We've had a few chats. She's trying to get to know me better." Said Jack.

* * *

As the Hellhound dropship prepared for dropping Austin and the ground team on Haestrom, the Major began thinking who he was going to take with him. His first choice was Leena obviously. He would need Leena's Quarian and tech expertise since they would most likely be dealing with the Geth. Next he eventually decided on Grunt, due to the Krogan's toughness and firepower, and finally he felt it best to top it off with Samara. Now he had a squad capable of handling any situation.

With that now sorted out, the door's sealed themselves, the dropship dislodged from the ceiling of the cargo hold and slowly flew out of the Normandy and down into the atmosphere of Haestrom.

As the neared landing, EDI's avatar appeared in the centre of the crew area. Grunt, Leena and Samara where all seated, but Austin always preferred to stand when he could and held onto one the ceiling rails.

"Shepard, our data indicates that Tali is somewhere in those ruins. There is considerable Geth activity, and an environmental hazard. Solar output has overwhelmed Haestrom's protective magnetosphere. Exposure to direct sunlight will damage your shields." She said.

"Sounds like we'll have to stick to the shade then." Said Leena.

"But no hiding. That's a coward's tactic." Said Grunt.

The dropship doors opened and Austin hopped out first followed by Leena before the Hellhound touched down and Samara and Grunt then followed.

Sure enough, the sunlight was an absolute nightmare. The slightest second it touched them and their shields would overload. Even Leena's shields where suffering, despite the fact that she'd tinkered around with hers. Only Grunt wasn't having this issue since he didn't have shields and only relied on his armour.

Once they'd managed to get across an exposed bridge very quickly, they came across a locked door. The controls however seemed to be in a small room next to it. As the door to the room opened though, they found themselves in room with both Quarian and Geth bodies. There was a voice recording log playing in the background.

" _Emergency log entry: The Geth are here. I've stayed to buy the others time. Anyone who gets this, find Tali Zorah! She and that date are all that matters. Keehlah Se'lai."_ It said.

Austin put his hand on Leena's shoulder as she bowed her head in honor of her fallen people. Samara activated the holographic interface for the large door and it opened.

Just as the group stepped through however, they heard a faint humming in the distance.

"Geth dropship! Incoming!" Leena yelled.

Everyone immediately unholstered their preferred weapons and ran for cover. The Geth dropship deposited several Geth troopers which unfolded from the crouched positions as they landed. The whole place immediately became ablaze with thermal clips, laser fire and biotics. Samara stuck mostly to throwing the Geth soldiers around with her biotics enabling Leena the opportunity to shoot EMP grenades onto them with her shoulder cannon while they were down.

Austin and Grunt meanwhile stuck to cover and used their guns. Grunt in particular was putting his new Claymore shotgun to very good use. Austin simply fired using his Revenant and fired a few plasma shots as well while he was in cover from enemy fire.

The fight was fierce, but the Geth where ultimately no match for the group's combined strength and abilities.

* * *

Much later, the group found themselves stepping through a narrow corridor. The dead bodies of both Geth and Quarians littered the floor. Next to one of them was what looked like a radio. A voice could be hard speaking through it.

 _"Break-break-break, OP-1, this is Squad Leader Kal Reegar, do you copy? The Geth sent a dropship towards OP-2, Tali Zorah's secure, but we need backup. We're bunkered up here. Can you send support?"_ it said.

Austin walked up to the radio and knelt down to pick it up.

 _"OP-1, this is Squad Leader Kal Reegar, come in, over!"_ the radio said again.

"This is Major Shepard of the Helldivers. Can we provide assistance?" said Austin as he picked the radio up.

 _"Patch your radio into Channel617 Theta."_ Kal Reegar replied.

Austin did so and set everyone's communication signal to the correct channel. Everyone nodded to acknowledge that they were connected.

 _"We were on a stealth mission. High risk. We found what we were after, but the Geth found us. They've got us pinned down. Can't get to our ship, can't transmit data through the solar radiation."_ Reegar continued.

How are you holding up? We can be there in a few minutes." Austin asked.

 _"Take it slow and careful. Direct sunlight fries your shields all to hell. We're bunkered down at base camp across the valley. I left Tali Zorah at a secure shelter, then doubted back to hold the chokepoint. Getting Tali out safely is our top priority. If you can extract her, we'll keep them off you."_ said Reegar.

"You've got confirmation that the Geth haven't reached Tali yet?" Leena asked.

 _"Affirmative. Left my best men with her. When you get here, you can talk to her on the comm. Every marine on this rock is sworn to protect Tali Zorah. Long as one of us is still drawing air, she'll be safe."_ Reegar replied.

"Hold position. We'll hit their back ranks." said Austin.

 _"Wait! Watch your ass! We've got a dropship coming in!"_ Said Reegar urgently.

Sure enough, another dropship flew into view. The base camp was being guarded by several more Quarian soldiers. As the drop ship came in, it fired a massive shot at them. The explosion obliterated the Quarians and a massive stone slab fell onto their bodies and in front of the door, blocking the path.

 _"Crap! Doorway's blocked! Use some demolition charges to clear a path!"_ said Reegar.

"I wish now that I'd brought Griffin. This is his specialty." said Austin.

Austin took a few small detonators from his belt and placed them on the slab.

"Stand clear, everyone!" he said as the all retreated to a safe distance. The Major pressed the detonator button. The ground shook for a moment and there was a massive explosion behind them. When they looked round, the doorway was clear now.

As like last time, the base camp was littered with Quarian and Geth bodies. Leena was finding it hard to keep her composure now in the face of so much death.

"Quarian architecture. There's something I haven't heard since I was a little girl." she said as she examined some of the research material.

"Why would the Quarians risk death by coming here?" Samara asked rhetorically.

Austin walked up to a nearby log. It appeared to be Tali's journal.

 _"Our ancestors walked these halls with uncovered heads. The sun must have been normal back then. So much space. Walls of stone… It's amazing. I wish my friends could see it. I wish Austin were here."_ it said in Tali's voice.

"She still thinks about you. Unexpected." said Leena.

At that moment, another console lit up and a holographic projection of Tali appeared over it.

 _"Tali Zorah to base camp. Come in base camp!"_ she said.

Austin immediately walked up to it and accessed the controls.

 _"Hello? Is anyone there?"_ Tali repeated.

"Tali, its Austin." said the Helldiver.

 _"Austin?! I'm not complaining, but you show up at the strangest times. What are you doing here in the middle of Geth space?"_ Tali asked, very surprised to be talking to her old friend again.

"We were in the neighbourhood. We thought you might need a hand." said Leena as she stood next to Austin so Tali could see her.

 _"Thanks for coming, Austin. It means a lot to hear your voice. Kal Reegar and what's left of the marines got em into the observatory. From where you are, it's through the door across the field. I got the data I needed and I'm safe for now, but I've got a lot of Geth outside."_ said Tali.

"What is this research you're after?" Austin asked.

 _"It's about this world's sun. It's aging faster than it should. I can tell you more about it once we've got fewer Geth shooting at us."_ Tali replied.

"It looks like somebody sealed the door against the Geth, and the console is damaged. Can you get it open on your end?" Austin asked as Leena tried in vain to get the door open. There was little she could do with the interface damaged.

 _"Let me see. Yes. I can do it. Here. Should be unlocked now. Be careful, Shepard. And please, do what you can to keep Reegar alive."_ said Tali.

Sure enough, the door was now unlocked and the group proceeded further through the ruins. There were more Geth in the tunnels, but it was nothing that they couldn't handle. Only the invisible drones proved to be a real nuisance. Like the Helldivers, they too had cloaking devices and where able to hide from site. Worse still, the area they had to go through was exposed to a lot of sunlight, so the group had to fight smart and be sure that they stuck to cover. Despite this though, the group finally managed to make it to the last bit. They found themselves in a room with a single door and some shutters. As Leena activated the controls for the door, the shutters opened with it. When they did however, Austin was starting to wish she hadn't done that.

Across the courtyard was a small army of Geth. They were gathered outside a massive bunker where they guessed Tali was. To be honest though, that wasn't the worst part. Accompanying the Geth was something that Austin hadn't seen since the battle on Virmire. A Geth Colossus! The massive four legged juggernaut turned around and spotted the group.

"HOLY HELL! GET DOWN!" Austin yelled as the Colossus charged up its main weapon and fired a massive beam from its eye.

The shot impacted on the control panel, barely missing the group. The rest of the Geth meanwhile where immediately alerted to this and some of them dispatched from the ones that were attempting to hack the door.

"This is why I follow you, Shepard. Big things." said Grunt as everyone quickly got back up and unholstered their weapons again. This would be a really tough fight.

"Definitely like old times." Leena muttered.

As the group quickly headed out of the area, they saw a lone Quarian soldier behind cover. His environmental suit was completely red and he had a rocket launcher in his hands.

"Over here! Get to cover!" he yelled to them.

The group didn't need to be told twice and the quickly took cover next to him.

"Squad leader Kal Reegar, Migrant Fleet Marines. We talked on the radio before the dropship arrived. Still got no idea why you're here, but this ain't the time to get picky. Tali's inside over there. The Geth killed the rest of my squad, and they're trying to get to her. Best I've been able to do is draw their attention." he said.

"Are you sure she's still alive?" Austin asked over all the noise of gunfire.

"The observatory is reinforced. Even the Geth will need time to get through it. And it's had to hack a door when someone's firing rockets at you." Reegar laughed slightly. "The Geth are near platoon strength, but the Colossus is the worst part. It's got a repair protocol. Huddles up and fixes itself. I can't get a clear shot while it's down like that. I tried to move in closer, but one of the bastards punched a shot clean through my suit."

"How bad is your suit damage?" Leena asked.

"Combat seals clamped down to isolate contamination, and I'm swimming in anti biotics. The Geth might get me, but I'm not gonna die from an infection in the middle of a battle. That's just insulting!" Reegar replied.

"We need to get to Tali. Got any ideas?!" Austin asked.

"Just one. I'm not moving so well, but I can still pull a trigger, and I've got a rocket launcher that the sun hasn't fried yet. You move in close. I'll keep the Colossus busy; maybe even drop its shields. With luck, you'll be able to finish it off." Reegar replied.

"You've done enough, Reegar. You don't need to throw your life away." said Austin persuasively.

"Wasn't asking your permission, even if you're a Major. My job is to keep Tali safe. This is our best shot." Reegar grunted as he went to pop out of cover to fire a rocket. Leena however quickly flung him out of the line of fire.

"We don't have enough people on our side for you to take one for the team! Stand down!" she ordered.

"I'm not gonna just stand there while you run into enemy fire! They killed my whole squad!" Reegar objected.

"And if you want to honor your squad, watch my back! I need you here in case they bring reinforcements!" said Austin.

"All right, Shepard. We'll do it your way. Hit 'em hard for me. Keelah Se'lai!" Reegar agreed reluctantly.

Dodging the Colossus' attacks was definitely not easy. With this, it was matter of sticking to cover and keeping your head down or you'd lose it. Luckily, the Geth weren't great shots from a far distance, so a lot of the laser fire missed its target. Other Geth troopers resorted to breaking formation and tried to move in closer to the group for a better shot. Though this made them easier to fire on, they too stuck to cover. Worse still, the Geth where starting to bring out the heavy artillery. Rocket troopers, Pyros, and even a few Geth primes had now joined the fray.

Overall, this was not going well. To make it even trickier, the Colossus now had the group pinned down and they couldn't advance any further.

"Fall back! There's no way we can get through that!" Austin ordered.

Grunt provided cover fire for the others while Samara threw up a small barrier to cover the group's retreat. They took cover once again next to Reegar.

"How's it going out there? You wanna try it my way?" he offered.

"On second thought, yes. If you're up for it, we could use some help." Austin replied, ducking his head down to avoid a near miss.

"Keelah Se'lai. Say hi to Tali for me!" said Reegar as he popped out of cover and fired a rocket at the Colossus. Though Austin knew this would now make things easier by keeping the Colossus distracted, he still didn't want Reegar left here without some help.

"Samara, stay here. Use a barrier to block the Geth's fire. Keep Reegar safe!" he ordered.

"I'll do my best." the Justicar nodded.

Now with a bit more of a plan, Austin, Leena and Grunt tired another push. Thanks to Reegar keeping the Colossus occupied they were able to get much closer now. To make things even easier, the Geth where now coming at them. Though this had them under heavy fire, it would at least mean there'd be less to deal with once they got close enough. It would also make talking down the Colossus much easier.

"How's Reegar doing, Samara?" Austin asked into his comm as he managed to land a head shot on a Geth prime which went straight through its head and even managed to punch a hole in a pyro's gas tank.

 _"Barriers are holding, Shepard. But we won't last much longer!"_ he heard Samara reply back as the pyro's tank ignited, taking a large bunch of Geth soldiers with it as it exploded.

"Feel the blood rage!" Grunt yelled as he practically went mad and practically gunned down anything in sight.

This was a tremendous help as it allowed them to now progress close enough to get a clear shot of the Colossus. The massive Geth however quickly noticed them and it abandoned its fire on Reegar.

The Colossus shot another beam, but Austin was quick to returned fire with a charged plasma shot. It didn't destroy the Geth, but it did at least manage to weaken it.

"Eat this!" the Helldiver yelled as fired another shot.

Despite this though, the Colossus still stood.

"Leena, if you've got anything up your sleeves, now's the time!" Austin yelled as he ducked back behind cover.

"I might have something, but I haven't tested it yet." Said the Quarian as she took a modified M-920 Cain from her back. Austin knew immediately that that was a nuke launcher.

"Well, now's as good a time as any!" said Austin as the Geth laid down suppressing fire on them.

"Your call, Major!" said Leena as she tossed the Cain to Austin.

The Helldiver charged it up and popped out of cover. Only too late did the Geth notice the nuke fully charged.

"Hasta La Vista, Baby!"

Austin pulled the trigger and the nuke sped right at the Colossus. Everyone's vision was blinded as the whole of the Geth army was engulfed in a massive explosion. Leena even was flung right off her feet by the blasts force. When the brightness died down, all that was left was last bit of mushroom cloud and a few small pieces of Geth.

Austin was left speechless as he looked at the M-920 Cain.

"Bloody hell!" he panted in surprise.

"Ha! Where can I get one of those?!" Grunt laughed as Samara quickly re-joined the group and helped Leena back up.

"That was… a pretty successful test." Leena panted and laughed at the same time.

"You, Leena, are genius. Not even Dells mad enough to make something like this." Austin laughed as he handed the Cain back to Leena. He made sure to be gentle with it this time having seen how destructive it was. He then turned to Samara.

"Reegar?" he asked.

"He is fine. He'll just be a minute." Samara replied.

"Good. Now, let's get what we came for." Said Austin.

 _"Just a second. I locked the door to keep more Geth from getting inside."_ Came Tali's voice. There was a brief pause before the door that the Geth had been attempting to hack unlocked. _"There, that should do it."_

The group proceeded through and saw Tali typing at a nearby console.

"Just let me finish this download…" she said. Once she'd finished, she turned to face her old friend. "Thank you, Austin. If not for you, I would never have made it out of this room. This whole mission has been a disaster. I wish I'd joined you back on Freedom's Progress, but I couldn't let anyone take my place on something this risky."

"A lot of our people lost their lives here, Tali. Was it worth it?" Leena asked.

"I don't know, Leena. It wasn't my call. The Admiralty Board believed the information here was worth sacrificing all our lives for. I have to believe that they know what's best." Tali replied.

"I didn't ask what some Admiral thought. I asked what you thought." Said Leena.

"A lot of people died here. Some of them were my friends. All of them were good at their jobs. That damn data better be worth it. The price was too high." Said Tali.

"Whatever the reason, I'm glad I could help. Once you deliver that data, I could use you on the Normandy." Said Austin.

"I promised to see this mission through, I did. I can leave with you and send the data to the fleet. And if the Admirals have a problem with it, they can go to hell! I just watched my whole team." Said Tali.

"Maybe not the whole rest of your team, ma'am." Said Reegar as he limped into the room.

"Reegar! You made it!" said Tali happily.

"Helldivers are as good as you said. Damn Colossus never stood a chance." Reegar smiled under his helmet.

"If need be, the Normandy can get you out of here, Reegar." Austin offered.

"The Geth didn't damage our ship. Long as we get out of here before reinforcements show up, we'll be fine." Said Reegar.

"Actually, I won't be going with you. I'm joining Captain Shepard." Tali quickly added.

"It's Major now." Austin correct.

"You're kidding! Keelah, are you going to keep getting promoted every time I see you?" Tali asked. But she sounded happy that Austin had been promoted again.

"Should've been calling him sir. Anyway, I'll pass the data to the Admiralty board and let them know what happened." Reegar said to Tali. He then turned to Austin. "She's all yours now, Shepard. Keep her safe."

Austin nodded in acknowledgement. Keeping Tali safe was something he could definitely do.

* * *

Tali was full of joy to back on the Normandy. In fact as soon as she stepped into the comm room, she practically hugged Austin tightly.

"Welcome back, Tali. It's so good to have you back." Alaara smiled.

"Good to see you too, Alaara. It's been a long time." Tali smiled. Her tone then suddenly went serious. "I refuse to believe that it's true, but I have to know. Austin, I've been hearing troubling rumours that you were working with Cerberus. Personally I wouldn't believe that even for a minute. And even if they were true, I would simply assume you were undercover. Maybe even planning to blow Cerberus up."

"I promise you, Tali. I'm not working for Cerberus. I wouldn't even be with my old team if I was. And if I was undercover, I definitely would've told you. I would rather die again than work for those terrorists."

"I knew that would probably be the case anyway. Still, I had to know. I will fight beside you whatever the cost. And if we do run into Cerberus, I'll lone you a grenade." Said Tali.

"Glad to hear that. Anyway, if it helps, check out the Normandy while you're here. We've gotten a few upgrades." Said Austin.

"I'll see to it that Tali is given security clearance to have full access to our systems. It's not like we have to worry about her trying to sabotage us." Said Alaara.

"Good. I can't be a true part of this team if I don't know how the ship works. If you need me, Austin, I'll be down in engineering." Said Tali as she went to leave the comm room.

"Don't forget to introduce yourself to EDI, the ship's new artificial intelligence." Said Austin.

Just as she was in the doorway, Tali stopped and looked at Austin. She didn't say anything for a minute before she finally waked off.

Alaara simply saluted and left as well afterwards.

* * *

As Austin entered the CIC, he noticed that Kelly seemed to be very happy.

"What's made you so happy, Kelly?" Austin asked kindly.

"I had a wonderful chat with your friend, Tali. She's not what I expected from her psych report, I like her." Kelly replied as she turned to face Austin.

The Helldiver was still coming to terms with the fact that'd he'd had a very sexual dream about her. In fact, he doubted he'd ever be able to look at her the same way. But that didn't mean the two still couldn't be friends.

"I do too. Tali's a good friend. We've been through a lot together." Austin smiled.

"Quarians are so fascinating to me, but they also make me a little sad." Said Kelly, her smiled dropping.

"Why do they make you sad?" Austin asked.

"Their environment suits are so beautiful, but with their immune systems, they're trapped inside. I wonder what they look like under those helmets, or what their skin feels like under those suits." Said Kelly.

"Hmm, I sometimes wonder the same thing. Anyway, is there anything I should know?" Austin asked.

"Yes, Kasumi recently told me to tell you that the she's recently received word of an important event coming up that'll be the perfect opportunity for that heist of hers. Apart from that, that's it I think." Kelly replied.

"Thanks for letting me know about that. I'd better go." Said Austin, quickly remembering that he'd promised Kasumi that they'd do her heist after Haestrom.

"It's always nice chatting with you." Kelly smiled as she went back to her work.

* * *

Just before he and Kasumi headed out, Austin decided to just quickly have a little chat with Tali and make sure she'd settled in alright. As he entered engineering, he overheard Gabby and Ken's conversation.

"So Gabby, what do you think of our new Quarian boss?" Ken asked.

"Hush. She's right over there." Gabby hissed as she indicated to Tali, who was working on a separate control panel to them.

"Ah, she can't hear us with her head in that bucket. Don't get me wrong: it's a beautiful bucket. The whole suit is lovely. Quite snug, in all the right places." Said Ken.

"You know I can hear you." Tali interrupted.

Ken fell silent with embarrassment while Gabby simply laughed. Even Austin couldn't help but chuckle a bit at this.

"Austin, what can I do for you?" Tali asked as she turned to face him.

"Have you got time to talk?" Austin asked.

Tali looked at Gabby and Ken and indicated for Austin to follow her. They headed into the massive drive core area to have a bit more privacy.

"We didn't really have time to chat whilst taking out Geth on Haestrom, did we? I can't believe so many people died. Thank you again for getting Reegar out alive. All for data about stars blowing up, I hope the admiralty board gets some use out of it." She said.

"Have you heard any word about Reegar? Did he survive his injuries?" Austin asked.

"He sent me a message. It looks like he'll make a full recovery. Any time you get a suit puncture it's a matter of luck. Reegar got out with a relatively minor infection." Tali replied with relief.

"Having any trouble settling back in on the Normandy?" Austin asked.

"I like the quiet. I miss the old faces though. Pressly, Engineer Adams, many of them. Still, his new Helldiver crew just as interesting. And it's nice to be working with most of the old team, especially Liara and Garrus. Speaking of which, I'm very happy that you two are still together. Your death tore her apart two years ago when then Normandy was destroyed." Tali smiled under her helmet.

"Yeah. Things where tense for a while before we finally had some time to chat. After that, well… let's just say the past is the past." Austin smiled.

"Let me know if there's ever going to be a wedding. I want a chance to get a nice dress for my suit." Tali joked. "Anyway, I should get back to work. Thanks for coming by."

Tali went back to her work and Austin decided now was the time to tell Kasumi he was ready. Just as he was leaving though, Ken and Gabby called him.

"Excuse me, Major. Do you have a quick minute? There's something we want to ask you." Said Gabby.

"Sure. What's the problem?" Austin asked.

"We can't complain. I just wish it didn't take so long to calibrate the FBA arrays…" said Ken, but before he could continue, Gabby interrupted him.

"Kenneth! You're complaining!" she said.

"Just tell me what the problem is? This could be very important." Said Austin.

"Don't get me wrong, the Arkanes did a brilliant job designing and building the Normandy. It incorporates their best technology." Said Ken. "However, they did get a bit sloppy with some minor bits. The FBA couplings in particular aren't top of the lien anymore. I won't bore you with the details, but there's an array of attenuators in the primary power transfer systems that channels the feed blee…"

"Kenneth! You're boring the Major with tech." Gabby interrupted again. She then turned to Austin. "In short, if we had T-6 FBA couplings installed, it'd save us a lot maintenance time each day."

"I see. If that's the case though, why haven't you placed a requisition order for them?" Austin asked.

"Nothing really would be able to done about it. The T-6 model is difficult to find. Nation Stellar Dynamics discontinued them." Ken explained.

"We could probably find used ones in the Omega markets, but we have no time for shore leave." Said Gabby.

"Even so, thank you for letting em know about this. Next time we're on Omega I'll keep an eye out for some." Said Austin.

"Really? You'd do that? Surely you've got more important things to do, sir." Said Gabby, surprised.

"The team and mission are important, yes. But to me, the welfare of the crew is just as important. We'll need everyone at their best, and I mean everyone." Said Austin.

"Well... thanks, Shepard. Thanks a lot." Said Ken gratefully.

"Carry on." Austin smiled.

* * *

"Kasumi, if you're ready, we can get this heist of yours done now." Said Austin as he entered the starboard observation room where Kasumi had set up her quarters. The thief herself was sat on the couches. She smiled under her hood as she saw Austin enter.

"Good. I've made all the necessary arrangements. Here's your formal wear." She said as she held up a neatly folded suit.

"Why is there a dress as well? Is that for you?" Austin asked as he noticed that Kasumi was holding a dress as well.

"No. This is for your sister." Kasumi replied.

"Sarah? When did this happen?" Austin asked in surprise as he took the suit from Kasumi.

"Trust me, Shepard. If we bring her, this will be way easier. I promise you now that she won't be in any danger. If this all goes to plan, we'll be able to pull this heist off without firing a single shot." Kasumi explained.

At that moment, the door opened and Sarah walked in. She was currently wearing her Alliance uniform and was also wearing an N7 hoodie over the top portion.

"Brother." She said as she nodded to her brother. She then noticed the dress in Kasumi's hands "Ah, good. That one's mine I take it?"

Kasumi nodded and handed the dress to Sarah who examined it for a bit.

Deciding that he shouldn't argue with Kasumi and his sister, Austin simply shrugged.

"Okay. Joker, plot a course for Bekenstein." He said to Joker.

"You two better get dressed. I'll get all the last minute preparations sorted. Said Kasumi as the two siblings walked out of the room and made for the restrooms in order to get changed.

* * *

About a minute or so later, Austin came back in. Kasumi smiled as she saw him dressed in the suit. It seemed to fit him just fine and he looked really smart in it.

"How's it fit?" she asked.

"Feels alright. Seems a bit tight around the neck, but other than that, fits fine. How'd you know my size?" Austin asked.

"I sized you up when we met." Kasumi winked at him.

"So where's **your** formal wear?" Austin asked.

"Oh, I won't be wearing any. My current attire will do fine." Kasumi replied.

At that moment, the door opened again and Sarah stepped in. She did not look happy. It was only now that Austin saw how short the dress was. While Sarah looked very pretty in it, it exposed a lot of her legs and only just stopped at her knees.

"Kasumi, is this a joke?! Have you seen how bloody short this thing is?! I know I have nice legs, but this is ridiculous!" the N7 marine complained.

The dress also hugged her body rather tightly. Austin was particularly embarrassed to see his sister cleavage on display.

 _Oh bloody hell."_ He groaned in his head. Even he had to admit that this dress was not the most appropriate. Especially for his own sister.

"We need you to get the admiring looks. Hock needs to take you just as seriously as your brother." said Kasumi, trying her best not to laugh.

"Fine. But if I catch one person staring at my legs and my tits, or trying to look up my dress, I'll kill them!" Sarah groaned.

* * *

**Sorry that some of the fight scenes where either too short, not descriptive enough or cut out all together, but it just feels a bit unnecessary for fight scenes like this. Boss fights, like the one with Shadow and Experiment 13 though make an exception since I do those ones very well.**

**Anyway, I hope to the next one done soon. Hopefully, it'll be bit more interesting and fun with Sarah coming along for the ride. I'm even going to make a little joke about a certain camera angle in Kasumi's mission. Some people might know what I mean. Those who don't... well i'm sure it'll make sense to you once you read this and play the DLC as FemShep.**

**Until next time!**


	19. Chapter 19, Stolen Memory

**Here we go! This chapter was very fun to write. Just to warn you though, I did have to shorten some of fight scenes before the boss battle. They make sense in game, i know. but in a film or book they just seem unnecessary and don't need to be explained in as much detail.**

**Should also warn you, the ending may not be what you expect. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**Stolen Memory**

The sky car zoomed gently through the clouds of Bekenstein. It was quite a pretty planet.

"You clean up well, Mr Solomon Gunn. Hock won't know what hit him." Kasumi smiled to Austin. She then turned to Sarah. "And you're looking good too, Ms Alison Gunn. Hock won't be able to keep his eyes off you."

Kasumi was driving whilst Austin was sat in the passenger seat and Sarah in the back.

"I take it we're wearing these get ups for a reason?" Sarah asked as she finished sorting her red hair out.

"You'd look really out of place at a society party in armour. Don't you think? Especially a Helldiver." Said Kasumi as she looked at Austin. She then looked at Sarah. "You look great. You should wear this stuff more often."

"Hmm. My eyes are up here by the way, Kasumi." Sarah joked.

At this, everyone laughed. Even Kasumi found the joke funny.

"British humour. Always brings a smile to my face." She said.

"So, I assume Solomon and Allison Gunn are our covers?" Austin asked.

"The two of you run a small but talented band of mercs out in the Terminus Systems. Precisely the type of people Hock respects. Xun and I took the liberty of giving you a reputation. Papers, witnesses, article in badass weekly. Just don't start talking business with him, and you'll be fine." Kasumi explained.

"Remind me, Kasumi: What kind of man are we dealing with?" Sarah asked.

"Hock's a weapon's dealer and smuggler. He killed my partner and stole his graybox. Other than that, he's not so bad. Rich, charismatic, willing to crack open a man's skull to get at the neural implants inside." Said Kasumi.

"Leave it alone!" said Sarah as she once again stopped Austin from scratching the prosthetic mask he'd had to wear.

"I'm sorry. But it's so itchy. Kasumi, is it really necessary for me to wear this mask? My battle scars hurt less than this does!" Austin complained.

"Trust me, Shep. This is for you and your sister's safety. Your scars make you too recognizable. Outside Council space, it's not so bad. But we're **in** Council space. Last thing we want is Hock recognizing you." Said Kasumi.

Austin ultimately gave in trying to talk his way out of it. Kasumi did make a fair point after all.

"I guess I can't argue with that. Anyway, now's probably a good time to fill us in on the details." He said.

"You have been waiting patiently." Said Kasumi as she brought up several video feeds in front of him and Sarah. The first one showed the actual party and Donavon Hock himself.

"Our friend Hock is throwing a party for his closest friends. A couple dozen of the worst liars, cheaters, and mass murderers you'll ever want to meet, all bringing gifts as a tribute to the man himself." She explained.

Next, a new feed popped up. This one showed a gold statue of very familiar looking Turian.

"Our tribute is a lovely statue of your old friend Saren, rendered with loving detail and filled to the brim with our weapons and armour. I've also hidden your suit remover in there as well, Shepard. Shouldn't have any problems. You can both keep your pistols as long as they're concealed. They won't hassle you over side-arms." Kasumi continued.

Sarah cleared her throat embarrassingly. Kasumi seemed to somehow read her mind.

"You've hid yours on her thighs, haven't you?" she giggled.

"I'm not hiding them down my cleavage, Kasumi! I tired that a few years ago, it went badly wrong. I had to have an ice pack on my breasts for nearly a week. Sarah retaliated.

Austin simply remained quiet as Kasumi continued explaining the plan.

"Once inside, we'll make our way to Hock's vault door, somewhere in the back of the ballroom. Then we case the security and start peeling away the layers. The statue should be there, waiting for us to crack it open and arm up. Then we just waltz into the vault and take back Keiji's graybox. And I'll finally get a chance to say goodbye." She finished.

"This is starting to sound like something out of a James Bond film." Sarah joked.

Once again, this caused Austin and Kasumi to chuckle.

"Ha. Oh, you two really are funny together." The thief smiled.

"Sense of humour runs in the family." Sarah smiled.

"You've worked really hard on this. Keiji must have meant a lot to you." Said Austin.

"Was I that obvious? Keiji's graybox holds a lot of priceless, personal memories. It's all that remains of who he was. But the secret he discovered is dangerous. I wouldn't bring you here if it wasn't." said Kasumi.

"This ought to be interesting." Said Austin, eagerly.

"That's what I'm going for." Kasumi agreed.

The sky car touched down and the doors opened up.

"This is our stop." Said Kasumi as they climbed out and Austin locked the car. Not that there was much point, but it was still best to appear normal.

"After you, Mr and Ms Gunn." Said Kasumi.

As the group started walking however, something quickly occurred to Austin.

"Wait, just so we've got this straight, she's still my sister, right? Because if we have to pretend we're married, this is going to be very difficult." He asked nervously.

"Don't worry. Even in this sort of situation, I wouldn't force that sort of thing on you. You two are still brother and sister." Kasumi reassured him.

"What about you? What part do you play?" Sarah asked.

"Me? I'm just your brother's pretty Japanese girlfriend." Kasumi smiled

"I hope Liara doesn't find out about this." Austin sighed. He knew that even if Liara knew about this, she'd understand. After all, Kasumi didn't really fancy him anyway.

"Relax! Think of this as dress up." Sarah joked.

"Oh grow up, you two." Austin groaned as the two girls giggled.

* * *

The statue was just being unloaded as they arrived at the entrance. To make sure he played the part, Austin had his left hand around Kasumi waist. While he wished it was Liara instead of her, he did admit that Kasumi did at least have very curvy hips.

"Just one moment, sir. There seems to be an issue with the statue." Said one of the Eclipse guards.

At that moment, Donovan Hock himself appeared in the doorway and walked down the stairs.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked in a South African accent.

"No, Mr Hock. Just doing a scan." Said the guard.

"I don't believe we've met. Donovan Hock." Hock said as he introduced himself to his 3 guests.

"I've heard a lot about you. Name's Solomon Gunn." Said Austin as he held his hand out. However, Hock didn't shake it.

"And I've heard a lot about you. You've been very busy lately if the extranet is to be believed." He said. He then noticed Sarah. "And I take it this is your sister?"

"Allison Gunn. A pleasure." Said Sarah.

To Austin's surprise, Hock then took Sarah's hand in his and kissed the back of it.

"Charmed, Ms Gunn." He said.

"Smoothie." Kasumi whispered.

"Shut up." Austin hissed. It took a lot for him not to tell Hock to keep his hands of Sarah.

"Sir, the scanners aren't picking anything up." Said the Eclipse guard as he finished his can of the statue of Saren. Hock looked at the statue, a hint of impress on his face.

"Hmm. I don't think our guests would come all the way here from Illium just to cause trouble. Do you?" he asked.

The guard simply shrugged and Hock turned back to Austin, Sarah and Kasumi.

"You may pass through, Mr and Ms Gunn, with my apologies. But I will ask your companion to remain outside. You understand, I hope." He said as he looked at Kasumi.

"Care to explain why my brother's girlfriend has to stand outside?!" Sarah asked sternly.

"I don't like the look of her, so she stays outside. Simple as that." Said Hock.

"No problem. You're the host." Said Austin politely. "Sorry darling. Seems things have changed." He said as he then kissed Kasumi full on the lips. This was only so that he remained in character. He just hoped that Kasumi wouldn't take this the wrong way, even with him fondling her ass.

"Enjoy the party." Said Hock as he went back inside.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" Sarah teased.

"I was acting." Austin replied sternly.

"Well, that didn't go as I expected." Said Kasumi, a bit surprised that Hock hadn't let her in.

"Any idea why he'd send you away?" Sarah asked.

"No. We've never seen each other in person, and no one knows what I look like. Just watching his ass I'm sure. I can't blame him." Kasumi replied.

"What do we do now?" Austin asked.

"We go on with the plan. You two will just have to do all the talking. I'll stay out of sight and stick with you both the best I can." Said Kasumi.

Both Shepards nodded and proceeded up the stairs with Kasumi bringing up the rear.

"We'll keep radio contact in case something goes wrong." She said as she activated her cloak and vanished from site.

" _We need to find the door and case the security. We'll figure out the next step then."_ Said Kasumi over the radio.

Both Austin and Sarah made sure to stay close to one another to at least make sure that no one tried to suddenly flirt with them. After wondering around the party for a bit, they managed to find what they were looking for.

The door to the vault was protected by a laser barrier and there were also two control panels next to it. Austin had seen enough security systems as a Helldiver to recognize one as a DNA scanner, and the other as a voice system.

"Very nice. There's more here than I expected." Said Kasumi.

As they walked in, Austin looked at the gold statue of Saren. He couldn't help but be a bit uncomfortable at the sight of the statue, remembering the Turian whom it represented. His mind though quickly snapped back to the task at hand as Kasumi looked around at the security systems.

"Password protected voice lock. Kinetic barrier. DNA scanner – looks like an EX-700 series. Everything a vault needs to be impenetrable." She observed.

"This gonna be a problem?" Sarah asked.

"Please. Remember who you're talking to. We'll need to get a voice sample for the voice lock. Sarah will have to go chat up Hock for that. We'll have to find a password, too. DNA? Child's play. We should find plenty of DNA samples in Hock's private quarters. And the barrier? Cut the power. Never fails… if we can find it. Keiji could get through a system like this in his sleep. And I'm better. Let's get to it." Said Kasumi.

As the two siblings walked out, Austin noticed what looked like a power cable. Kasumi noticed it too.

"It looks like the barrier's power cable runs under the floor here. I'll set your omni-tools to scan for electromagnetic fields." She said.

Sure enough, the cable now became highlighted in orange, even as it disappeared into the ground and out of sight. The two siblings slowly followed the hologram through the party, being careful not to bump into everyone. Eventually, they found that the cable seemed to end just behind a small statue.

" _One sec."_ said Kasumi.

The thief unlocked and pulled down the statue which caused a small panel to slide away, revealing a generator of sorts.

"That should take care of the barrier." She said as she short circuited it and the orange hologram of the cable disappeared.

With that sorted, they now only had the voice and DNA scanner left. Austin noticed nearby locked door. He could immediately tell that this might be important.

" _That door goes to a security room. I'll take care of lock."_ Said Kasumi.

A few seconds later, the door unlocked and opened.

"There we go."

Sarah then saw this as a good opportunity to get the voice recording from Hock.

"Austin, you can handle this. I'll go and help Kasumi get a voice print from Hock." She said.

"Just be careful what you say, Sarah." Said the Helldiver cautiously.

"Like I said, he looks at me wrong; he'll get more than just a slap from me." Said Sarah.

"Alright. Good luck." Said Austin as he disappeared through the door and Sarah went to go and talk with Hock.

* * *

Austin took his pistol from out of his jacket as he readied to breach the next door. With the original one closed, no one would hear the shots.

The door opened. There were two guards in the room. They reached for their own guns, but Austin was way too fast. Two quick shots, and they where did within minutes.

With the coast clear, Austin began looking around. He found a data pad and read it.

* * *

"— _Nance:_

_I have that problem, too. So many passwords around here, can't keep them straight. The password for tonight is *PERUGGIA*, so it's not even that easy to remember._

_It's not a big deal. That voice scanner means the passwords only useful to Hock, anyway._

_After this party, want to grab some beers? Let me know._

_-Samuels_

* * *

_"That was easy."_ Austin thought as he finished reading.

* * *

Sarah was now to ready to start getting Hock talking for the voice print. Kasumi was hidden just behind a nearby pillar.

 _"There he is. All you need to do is keep him talking long enough for me to get a voiceprint. Pull out the charm on this one, Shep. Whenever you're ready."_ she said into Sarah's ear mike

Sarah nodded to Kasumi and the thief activated her omni tool.

"After you." she said.

"Ms Gunn. Good to see you. That scene at the door hasn't soured you and your brother's evening, I hope." said Hock as he took noticed of Sarah and shook hands with her.

"Think nothing of it" said Sarah. _"Oh yeah, real smooth, Sarah."_ she groaned in her head. What had she been thinking by saying that?

"I'm pleased that you weren't offended. Now, if you'll excuse me." said Hock as he turned back to the other guests.

"Not nearly enough of a sample. Keep him talking." said Kasumi.

" _Oh, I know!"_ Sarah thought as she quickly thought up a few good things to say to Hock.

"I was hoping to have a little more of your time." she said.

"You have my attention. Use it wisely." said Hock.

"I think we might have a few rivals in common. I'd like to find out if that's the case." said Sarah.

"No doubt you and your brother have built up an impressive list of enemies." said Hock.

"It's one of the costs of business in my line of work." Sarah smiled suggestively.

"Let's have a date after the party. Discuss the possibility of an accord." Hock smiled at her.

 _"Great. He's ogling me."_ Sarah groaned in her head.

Hock then turned and seemed to address everyone as he spoke.

"People these days want comfort, entertainment, love. They don't see that the galaxy is fragile. They only have to worry about simple luxuries. Why? Because people like me – and you – are doing the terrible things that keep the galaxy spinning. This party is for us. The Cleaners. The support structure for the galaxy's gleeful delusions of peace. This part is for us. The cleaners. The support structure for the galaxy's gleeful delusions of peace. May there always be a market for the things we do."

Everyone clapped and cheered. Hock simply nodded to them.

"I said get him talking, and you got him talking. We've got enough of a voice sample. Let him go." said Kasumi.

"I'll look forward to speaking with you later, Ms Gunn." said Hock as he turned back to his other guests.

" _Dream on, you bastard!"_ Sarah thought.

* * *

A minute later, Austin came out of the door.

"Got something?" Kasumi asked.

"The password is "Perugia." Austin replied.

"Huh. That's the name of the man who stole the Mona Lisa. Nice. Now, I just take the voice sample we got from Hock, and… Got it! Now we can crack that voice scanner." said Kasumi.

As the group headed back to the vault entrance, they spotted a locked door. There was a guard standing in front of it.

"Mr Hock's private rooms are off limits to guests without security clearance." he said.

"I apologise. I'll go elsewhere." said Austin apologetically.

"Enjoy the party." said the guard.

" _Private rooms? We need to get in there! That's the best place to find Hock's DNA."_ said Kasumi.

There wasn't any way they'd be able to get in through the front entrance. However, as they went outside, Austin did see a way in. Making sure no one was looking, he and Sarah jumped over the railings. They landed on another bit of the building. Two guards were watching the area just in case.

Austin and Sarah took out their pistols and Kasumi did the same as she uncloaked.

"Deal with them quietly. We don't want them to know we're here." Austin whispered.

Kasumi nodded and cloaked again as she snuck up on the closest guard. Austin and Sarah meanwhile snuck up behind the other. Austin quickly grabbed the guard's helmet and gave it a violent twist. At the same, Kasumi uncloaked right behind the other one and did the same thing. With both the guards dealt with, they now had a quiet way into Hock's private rooms.

* * *

"Look for anything we can get usable DNA from. Just make it quick and quiet." said Kasumi.

The three split up and began looking in separate places of the room.

"Aha!" said Austin.

"Found a sample?" Kasumi asked.

"Nope, a credit chit!"

"No hair, no skin flakes." said Sarah as she examined the bed.

"The house keepers must be thorough." said Kasumi.

Austin then examined an empty wine glass.

"What about this?" he asked.

"Not a great saliva sample, but it's still useful." said Kasumi. "We're going to need more than this for the scanner, though."

Austin then noticed a cigarette tray and examined it.

"Empty. Too bad. A cigarette butt would have been a good source." said Kasumi

"I can't stand smokers. Disgusting habit!" said Austin

"You and me and me both, bro." Sarah agreed.

The N7 marine then noticed a pile of papers. Unfortunately, those too didn't have any DNA.

"Hmm. No DNA, but… looks like Hock's been trying to crack Keiji's graybox. Looks like he's missing something. He hasn't cracked the encryption yet." said Kasumi.

"What about these swords?" Austin asked as he indicated to a small glass exhibit containing some old swords.

"The cleaners don't dare touch treasures like this. We can get some skin cells from the dust. It's probably contaminated, though. We should find another sample." said Kasumi.

Sarah then noticed a nearby datapad and looked it. It looked as though it had only recently been placed there.

"What about this?" she asked.

"We can probably the Hock's DNA off the datapad. He seems to have obsessed over this." said Kasumi.

"That should do it. Let's get out of here." said Kasumi.

As they were leaving the room however, Austin hand accidentally brushed holographic alarm clock next to Hock's bed.

" _Good morning! Time to wake up!"_ it said as it buzzed.

"Sorry!" Austin said quickly as he turned it off.

"You're just lucky no one heard that." Sarah hissed.

* * *

The group quickly went back the way they came. They couldn't risk going through the door since that would raise questions, especially with the guard outside. When they got back to the vault, the barrier was down. All they had left now where the voice prints and ID panels.

" _DNA identification affirmed. Welcome, Mr Hock."_ said the first scanner.

_Kasumi then turned to the other one._

" _Password required."_ it said.

Kasumi activated her omni tool and played the recording she'd got of Hock's voice which she'd now configured to speak the password.

" _Perugia."_ it said.

" _Voice ID accepted. Welcome, Mr Hock."_ said the scanner.

Almost instantly, the door opened.

"I'll check for security cams. You two go ahead and get dressed." said Kasumi.

While Kasumi sorted out the security cameras in the elevator, Austin and Sarah walked up to the statue of Sarah. Both siblings activated their omni tools. A small compartment on the base that the statue was stood on opened up and Sarah's N7 Defender armour and Death Mask slid out.

Austin unzipped his suit's jacket and trousers and pulled them off, revealing that he'd been wearing his suit mesh underneath it, much to Sarah's annoyance since she would have to take her dress off and strip to her underwear briefly.

"Oh, that's not fair! You wore your suit mesh under that?!" she said, shocked.

"I had to. At least you weren't hot in yours." Said Austin as he folded up his suit

"At least you don't have to strip naked!" Sarah complained as she unzipped her dress.

"Stop arguing, you two. We don't have much time." Said Kasumi as she risked a quick glance at Sarah's black bra and panties.

"You sound like our mother when you say that." Said Sarah as she started getting her armour on.

The golden statue of Saren then seemed to change from as the several arms of a Helldiver suit remover appeared out of it with bits of the statue attached to them.

" _Good old Dell."_ Austin smiled as his suit was slowly built around him piece by piece.

After a few minutes, the final piece was in place and Sarah put her Death Mask on. Austin then opened the compartment on the statue's base that contained their weapons. Kasumi took her SMG and pistol while Austin threw Sarah's N7 weapons to her.

Once everyone was armed up, they walked into the elevator, Sarah and Austin banging fists as they did so. The doors closed, and the elevator began its decent into Hock's vault.

* * *

The doors opened and the three comrades found themselves inside a massive room filled with all sorts of rare artefacts and treasures. Among them where some very famous ones such as Michelangelo's David and the head of the original statue of Liberty after it was damaged by terrorists many years ago. The statue had obviously been rebuilt shortly after, but this one was a brand new different version. The original one had been left in pieces, one of which was now right in front of them.

"So this is Hock's vault. Very nice." Said Kasumi as she looked around impressed by the vault.

"This scanner will hone in on the graybox. It's not far."

The scanner started beeping and got either faster or slower depending on how close they were to the graybox. As they got closer, Austin spotted an interesting looking pair of SMGs on a nearby table.

"That's a Kassa Locust. No, THE Kassa Locust!" said Kasumi.

"The gun that killed two Presidents. Gorgeous." Sarah smiled as she picked up one of them.

"It even comes with a perfect copy, too. I'm sure Hock won't mind if we borrow these." Kasumi smiled naughtily.

Kasumi took the other Locust for herself. Then, on another nearby table, Kasumi saw what she had come for.

"Oh my god. There it is!" she said as she activated her omni tool and began moving the files and memories to her own graybox.

" _Don't bother Ms Goto. Its code locked."_ Said a familiar voice.

Sure enough, a large hologram of Hock's face appeared at the far end of the vault.

" _I had a feeling that was you at the door. I knew if it was really you, you'd get through anyway."_ He said.

"You know me. I don't like to disappoint." Said Kasumi.

" _I need what's in your graybox, Kasumi. You know I'm willing to kill you for it. I'll admit your skills are impressive. You, a Helldiver and an N7 marine got into my vault like I'd left it open. But you're still going to die screaming, just like your old friend."_ Hock taunted.

Just before he could finish however, Austin suddenly activated his shoulder plasma cannon and fired a shot at a nearby antique vase. The antique smashed to pieces immediately due to its fragile state.

" _No!"_ Hock yelled.

"Have we got your attention?!" Sarah taunted.

"Ha! That shut him up." Kasumi laughed as the download finished.

" _Kill them!"_ Hock yelled.

Almost immediately, the door at the far end opened and several Eclipse troopers came in, guns blazing. Austin, Sarah and Kasumi all went to cover and returned fire. Kasumi in particular put the new Kassa Locust to the very good use on the mercs while Sarah fired upon the heavy troopers with her N7 Typhoon. Like her brother, Sarah too preferred a light machine gun over her other weapons. The Typhoon in particular was her favourite. Austin meanwhile just stuck with the weapons that Dell and Sill had given him. In fact, he too had taken to nicknaming his M-76 Revenant, Revan, just as Sill had.

A fierce fight raged within the vault. So fierce in fact that nearly every single shot either hit an Eclipse merc or one of the antiques. Austin couldn't help but smile a bit as he thought of what Hock's expression would be if he saw this now.

Finally, Austin delivered the last killing blow to Chief Roe and the vault was clear.

"Checking blueprints…" "There's a landing pad to the east. Let's get out of here." Said Kasumi.

"Joker, send the Hellhound in. Now!" Austin said into his comm.

* * *

The trio made their way out of the vault and into some underground tunnels. They were filled with a lot of vehicles and machinery. As the neared the tunnel that would take them to the landing pad however, the stone doors suddenly closed.

" _They're out of the vault. Seal them in!"_ came Hock's voice over the loud speaker.

"Damn it! We have to find another way!" said Kasumi.

"Austin, can't you just punch through the wall?" Sarah asked.

"My armour's not strong enough to do that. Besides, these walls are concrete. I'll just break my wrist." Said Austin.

Fortunately, there was another way out. Unfortunately though, it was crawling with more Eclipse troopers. Another gunfight ensued as the trio battled their way through. Things started to get a bit harder when the Eclipse soldiers started using heavy mechs as well. Though this made things a bit more challenging, it was still nothing that the three couldn't handle by working together.

Once they'd cleared another room, they found themselves in a dead end. On the far side of the room where several large fuel tanks, and they look flammable.

"It'll take heavier weapons than that to blow those tanks." said Kasumi as Sarah fired a few shots from her Typhoon which hardly made a dent in the tanks.

Austin however wanted to be sure. He activated his plasma cannon and fired a shot at the tanks. It left a mark, but still nothing happened.

"Didn't she just say…?" said Sarah.

"I just thought I'd try. Plasma packs more of punch." said Austin.

"What about this?" Kasumi asked.

Austin and Sarah looked round to see a massive tank a few feet away from the fuel tanks. The tank had a massive gun on the top.

"Well, only one way to find out." Austin shrugged as he climbed up onto the tank and activated gun. A large beam shot from the gun and the fuel tanks completely exploded as the beam hit them. When the smoke from the blast had cleared, there was now a massive hole in the wall.

"That got it." said Kasumi.

 _"What the hell are you people doing down there?!"_ came Hock's voice over the speakers.

More Eclipse mercs quickly flooded into the tunnels. Austin and Sarah unholstered their weapons again and went to cover.

" _Kill Solomon Gunn! But spare his sister. Bring the girls to me!"_

"Over my dead body!" Austin yelled as he fired a plasma shot at the heavy mechs head, causing it to overload and explode in a small mushroom cloud explosion. This managed to make things easier for Sarah and Kasumi as the blast took out half the topers.

" _Don't fight me, Kasumi. You know what happened to your boy toy when he fought back."_ Hock taunted.

"You don't talk about Keiji like that! Murderer!" Kasumi yelled as she shot down two Eclipse vanguards with the Locust.

" _Keep them busy. I'll take care of this myself."_ said Hock.

Austin, Sarah and Kasumi finished off the last of the guards and made their way for the door.

"Take it slow. I imagine Hock's got a surprise for us. We're not out of the woods yet." Austin advised.

* * *

Both Austin and Sarah looked around, scanning the area for enemies. For a moment, everything seemed clear. Just as the two siblings relaxed however, a faint humming sound suddenly sounded from under the landing pad. It got louder and then a gunship suddenly flew into view.

"Incoming! Get down!" Austin yelled as the gunship opened fire on them with its gun and they all went to cover.

" _You could've done this the easy way, Goto. Allow me to show you the hard way."_ Hock's voice echoed front he gunship.

More Eclipse mercs soon joined the fray as the gunship layer down surprising fire.

"This is bad!" Austin yelled as he rolled from his previous cover to a new one as the gunship's firepower compromised him.

"We've had bad before!" Sarah replied back as she briefly popped out of cover and shot down two Eclipse heavy's with her Typhoon.

"This is worse." Austin finished.

"Got a plan at all?!" Kasumi shouted from where from an Eclipse trooper had her pinned.

Austin thought for a moment before he set his plasma cannon to automatic and it shot the trooper surprising Kasumi, allowing the thief to move to new cover.

"You two, take care of the Eclipse. I'll deal with Hock. I've got enough firepower to take that ship down!" he ordered.

"Roger that, Major." Sarah replied in agreement as she went over to join Kasumi while Austin moved to try and get a better shot at Hock's gunship.

" _What did you tell your friends, Kasumi? You're doing this for love?"_ Hock taunted as his focus shifted to Austin.

The Helldiver returned fire with two plasma shots, which Hock managed to dodge. These however hadn't been intended as an attack. They'd merely been so Hock would move the gunship into a better shooting angle for Austin. The Helldiver let his Revenant loose on the gunship as it flew into view. Unexpectedly however, the shot's impacted on the gunship's shields. Austin hadn't counted on this. Gunships like these often just had armour. Hock had obviously made some upgrades, clever. Austin fired both his Revenant and plasma cannon at the same time, which managed to wear the shields down a lot. Before he could finish Hock off though, the gunship vanished from sight.

Sarah and Kasumi meanwhile were working well together against the Eclipse. Kasumi's tech skills coupled with Sarah's soldier and N7 training where making them a match for their opponents.

"Not bad shooting, for a thief." said Sarah as she threw a grenade out, which obliterated a nearby fuel tank and set several Eclipse soldiers on fire.

"You're not so bad yourself. You certainly live up to the expectations of being the sister of a Helldiver." Kasumi smiled back at her as she used an overload on an Eclipse engineers shields, allowing Sarah to finish him off.

Hock's gunship flew into view once again. Austin's HUD annoyingly told him that the gunship's shields had charged back up.

" _Even if you escape, I'll scour the galaxy for you!"_

"Not if I can help it!" Austin yelled as he once again opened fire. Despite his best efforts though, he couldn't wear the shields down quickly enough before they repaired themselves.

"If I can get to the ship, I can take down the shields!" Kasumi yelled to him.

Austin immediately understood now. If all the Eclipse mercs where out of way, Kasumi would be able to get to Hock. The Helldiver abandoned his attack on the gunship and retreated back to where his sister and the thief where. Despite Hock firing at them, they soon managed to gun down the final merc and the landing pad was clear.

"Got a clear shot! Here we go!" said Kasumi.

The thief ran out of cover as Hock attempted to shoot her. Kasumi jumped up onto some nearby pipes. Austin and Sarah where amazed by her speed and agility. Austin had never seen a non-Helldiver move like that before. Kasumi then jumped up onto the net level of pipes and ran at the gunship. Just as she reached the end, she jumped at it. She landed on the gunship's cockpit and activated her omni tool.

Her overload immediately shorted out the shields and the gunship briefly spun out of control before Hock managed to regain control of it. Kasumi slid down the windshield to the very bottom. Hock glared at her from inside. Kasumi then gave a mocking salute and jumped off. She flipped in the air like a gymnast before she landed back not he pad. Both Austin and Sarah where left speechless by this.

 _"Helldivers could learn a lot from her."_ Austin thought.

"Shields down! Let's tear that thing apart!" said Kasumi.

The two Shepards smiled and popped back out of cover for a clear shot at Hock. The contestant gunfire quickly caused several bullet holes to appear in the gunship. The combined force of an M-76 Revenant and an N7 Typhoon was just immense

" _No one escapes from Donovan Hock!"_ Hock yelled from the gunship.

Sarah holstered her Typhoon and picked up a rocket launcher from one of the dead Eclipse mercs.

"Well we do! This is for trying to flirt with me!" she yelled as she locked on and fired.

The rocket zoomed towards its target. Hock attempted an evasive manoeuvre, but it was in vain. The rocket simply altered course, still locked onto its target. The gunship exploded into loads of pieces as the rocket hit's target head on. There was no way that Hock could've survived that in any way.

The three came out of cover and took a moment to catch their breath.

"Good moves, Kasumi. That was very impressive." Austin panted.

"I try." Kasumi simply smiled.

The Hellhound dropship then came into view and slowly set down on the landing pad. Austin, Sarah and Kasumi didn't hesitate to get in and the dropship quickly took off again.

* * *

On board the Hellhound, Kasumi was examining the small device that had the graybox files now stored in it. Austin and Sarah where at a small terminal so that they'd be able to see and hear what she would as well as she examined the files and memories. Austin nodded and Kasumi inserted the device into a small slot not he wall. A holographic projection appeared over Kasumi's eyes and she almost seemed to black out as her head went limp.

* * *

Kasumi opened her eyes to find herself in a holographic reality. Stood in front of her, was Keiji.

"Kasumi. If you're seeing this, it's because I'm dead. The information we found is all here. It's big Kasumi. If the Council ever got wind of this… the Alliance could be implicated. Kasumi, I… I encrypted the information to keep it safe. And I uploaded the encryption key to your graybox, so now one could get the whole package." he explained.

Kasumi walked around a bit and opened one of the memories. The memory showed her and Keiji kissing before she then threw him down on the bed and they began making love. Kasumi smiled as she watched the romantic sight.

"But if I'm dead, and if anyone knows about this… then I've made you a target, my love. I'm so, so sorry." Keiji continued.

"Keiji…" Kasumi sighed sadly.

"I know you, Kasumi. You'll want to keep these memories forever. But you don't need some neural implant to know I'll always be with you." said Keiji "Please, Kasumi. Destroy these files."

Kasumi immediately reacted to this with shock and ran to where the hologram of Keiji still stood. "There's nothing more I can do to protect you."

"I… I can't do that! This is all that's left!" Kasumi said, almost on the point of tears.

"Goodbye, Kasumi. I love you." Keiji finished as Kasumi hugged him.

* * *

The hologram around Kasumi's eyes vanished and she came back to reality.

"Is there any way we can just destroy the information?" Austin asked.

"No. Keiji's a master at encrypting files. He laced the information into his memories. You can't get one without experiencing the other." Kasumi sighed.

Austin gave a very heavy sigh. He hated to do this, but he had no choice. He could only hope that Kasumi would understand.

"You heard him, Kasumi. He'd want you to destroy the information save yourself." He said.

"Sarah looked surprised at Austin for saying this, but she didn't say anything. She could tell that her brother took no pleasure in this, and she understood why he had made this difficult decision.

"I know. I just… I can't! This is all that's left of him." Kasumi whimpered, her voice cracking as a tear streaked down her cheek.

"If it makes it easier, I'll help you do it." said Sarah as she put her hand reassuringly on the thief's shoulder.

"I… okay. Just help me get it over with, please." Kasumi sobbed, just managing to regain her composure.

Sarah held Kasumi's hand as the thief pressed the buttons not he holographic display. Kasumi gave on last look at Keiji's face before the image crackled and finally went blank. The files were destroyed.

"Th… thank you." Kasumi whispered as she sobbed into Sarah's shoulder.

"There, there. It's alright." said the N7 marine gently as she hugged Kasumi too her. The two sat down together while Austin sat down separately.

" _I'm sorry, Kasumi. I really am."_ he wanted to say it, but he ultimately felt it'd just be better to let Kasumi be. Given time, she'd come round.

* * *

**Don't be angry at me for making this decision. Please be assured that I had good reasons for doing it. Reasons that you'll hopefully find out soon. Kasumi is eventually going to be paired with someone as the story progresses. This helps here get over the loss of the files.**

**Would also like to say, maybe later after the next chapter there will be another sex scene. This one will involve Kasumi, but it won't involve Shepard being with her. It'll be more that Kasumi watches Shepard having sex with Liara and get's turned on by it. Well, you know what I mean.**

**Hope to see you soon. Next chapter will involve recruiting Thane. If there any Thane fans reading this, I'm very sorry that i've delayed his recruitment for so long. I'm hoping also to include the Shadow Broker hacking mission for Xun just before Shepard heads out to recruit the assassin.**

**Farewell for now! Please do leave your opinions on this one. You know how much they mean to me.**


	20. Chapter 20, Everything is permitted

**Well, that was quicker than I expected, considering how long this ended up being. Just felt I should let you all know in advance, the very end contains the start of another sex scene. The full bit will come in Chapter 21, which will be Zaeed's loyalty mission. Haven't quite decided yet which one to do next, but I should have my mind made up by the time I've done 21.**

**Please do let me know fully what you think of this one. I've been trying to improve my action writing a bit better, and this contains some of my improvements. If they're good enough, I'll keep it up and hopefully, it should be pretty good at this when we get to the Collector base battle. I'll also need the good writing for the epic battles I have planned for ME3. By the way, if any of you have any ideas for Helldiver ME3 that you'd like to suggest to me, just PM me. I listen to all feedback and I'm happy to also listen to any ideas people might have.**

**Enjoy!**

**Oh, one more thing. A big thank you to LegionnaryPrime for coming up with the title for me. For anyone unsure, it's a reference to the Assassins Creed saying "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted" It works well since Thane himself is an Assassin.**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

**Everything is permitted**

Kasumi hadn't spoken at all since coming back from Bekenstein. Even Kelly was a bit worried about her. The Yeoman reckoned however that with bait of time, she would eventually get over it. Austin didn't blame the thief for her depression. Losing a lover was not easy. In fact, Liara actually sympathised with Kasumi since she knew how the thief felt. She had felt exactly the same way when Austin had died two years ago.

As if Austin isn't have that to worry about, Miranda and Jacob's full defections had now been done. Because of this, the two ex-Cerberus operatives where now on board. Although it had been his choice that they be transferred to his crew, Austin was still uncomfortable having them on board.

Jacob was actually alright. In fact, reports of the interrogation said that he'd willingly provided any valuable information he could. Obviously, he'd been unable to tell them where the Illusive Man was; even the leader of Cerberus took precautions with his men. But the Intel provided had still been very useful. Plus, given that Jacob was once in the Alliance, Austin did suppose it was worth giving him a chance.

Jacob had requested to be posted in the armoury since he was pretty good with weapons and felt he would best be of help in there. Alpha Squad, and even Austin himself, had been rather uncomfortable with the idea of an ex-Cerberus agent having access to their weapons. Fortunately, Kraan had eventually said that he would stay in the armoury as well so he could keep an eye on Jacob. It had been two days now and surprisingly, Kraan had said that Jacob was good to have around. He was very friendly to the Krogan. In fact, during dinner later that day Jacob had sat down with Alpha Squad and had attempted to start a conversation. Alpha had been resilient at first, but after a few minutes they'd eventually been chatting very well with him.

Miranda on the other hand was completely the opposite. According to the reports, it'd been much harder to get information out of her. Although she'd willingly defected, she'd still shown a very negative attitude towards it. In fact, that attitude was present even here. She was bossy, she always seemed to think of herself as having authority among the other crew and she had even at one point tried to order Alaara around. This had ended up in a very violent argument, so much so that Alaara had actually slapped Miranda very hard and told her to fall in line. Austin had managed to step in before it got any worse, but he had not been happy. Naturally of course, he had sided with Alaara. She was right after all. She was second in command, not Miranda. Still though, Miranda had argued that if she was to be a part of this team, she should have some authority. At that point, Austin had nearly shouted at her. Eventually, Miranda had reluctantly apologised coldly to Alaara and had promised that she would stop bossing everyone around.

Since Jacob had settled into the last vacant quarters, Miranda had set up hers in a separate room. There was a small office on the crew deck that had been left vacant ever since the Normandy had been built. Miranda hadn't actually complained about it though since she felt it was just to her liking.

Last on the dossiers was the Drell assassin, Thane Krios. It would still be a while before getting to Ilium again though. Still, Austin had plenty of people to talk to in order to pass the time. Though he didn't trust Jacob, he at least decided to have a go at talking. Who knows? Perhaps Jacob would be an okay person.

"Major Shepard. Good to finally be able to talk you in person." Jacob said as he saluted.

"You may stand at ease at ease, Taylor." Said Austin.

Jacob did so and relaxed.

"Thanks. There hasn't really been time to settle in and take stock. I wanna say that working with you is a great opportunity to do something that matters. It's a privilege to serve on the Normandy, Major." He said.

"Let's get one thing straight, Taylor. You're here because you were Cerberus. You're here so I can keep an eye on you and Lawson. Don't expect special treatment. You may work for the Helldivers now, but you still where Cerberus. I'll be keeping an eye on you." Said Austin forcefully.

Jacob seemed a bit disheartened by this, but did not try to object.

"Fair enough. I can't say I blame you anyway. I'll just have to earn you're trust." He said.

"Hopefully you will. I'm hoping we'll be able to get past our differences eventually." Said Austin.

"At least you're giving me a chance. Most Helldivers hate Cerberus on principle." Said Jacob.

"I'm one of them, Taylor. But under the circumstances, I am willing to give you a chance." Said Austin.

"Understood." Said Jacob.

"So, what's your story, Jacob? I'm told you served in the Alliance before joining Cerberus." Austin inquired.

"Yeah. 5 years in total. Stationed all over the galaxy. Even spent a couple of years as a Corsair." Said Jacob.

"Ah yes. I've heard of them. An Alliance initiative if I'm correct. Hired independent star ship captains and used them for missions that fell outside official Alliance jurisdiction." Austin asked.

"Yeah. Technically, we weren't part of the Alliance. I we got caught, they could disavow any knowledge of us. We were supposed to be free from restrictions and rules, but there was still enough red tape to sink a cruiser. I finally just gave up."

"So what brought you to Cerberus?" Austin asked.

"I guess I just got tired of never making a difference. So much of what we did in the Alliance just seemed pointless. I thought things would be different after the attack on the Citadel. But nothing changed. Politics, bureaucracy. Same bullshit, different leaders!" Jacob nearly complained.

"That's too far, Taylor. Calm down." Said Austin.

"Sorry, Major. It just irritates me so much." Jacob apologised.

"If you disliked it so much, why Cerberus and not the Helldivers? Helldivers have a lot less restrictions." Austin asked.

"At the time, things were different. Back then I wasn't very uncomfortable working with Aliens. That's mainly what led me to Cerberus. Now days though, I'm not so sure." Said Jacob.

"What did Cerberus do to make you doubt them?" Austin asked.

"A lot. They've been called terrorists, and with good reason. I think you of all people know what I mean." Said Jacob. Austin simply nodded in agreement.

"Glad you are starting to things in a different light, Taylor. With luck, we'll have no problem." Said Austin.

"Fair enough, Major. Let me know if you need anything." Said Jacob as he went back to work.

"Shepard." Kraan nodded to Austin as he left the armoury.

* * *

This time for returning to Illium, Austin decided on taking Liara with him again, followed by Kasumi, since Austin felt a bit of air might do her good and finally Miranda.

Since Miranda no longer worked for Cerberus, she no longer wore the cat suits she'd worn. She had thought about wearing a black one, but even that had been forbidden. Instead, Miranda was clad in a black set of armour. It had originally been Cerberus armour, but it had now been specially modified. It was black with yellow stripes on it and also had a Helldiver symbol on the right breast plate. Miranda also had a holographic visor over her eyes. It actually suited her rather well if Austin was honest. A bit embarrassingly though, it still failed to her hide Miranda extremely sexy body. Her ass still stuck out and the armour's chest had had to be refitted so that her large breasts could fit comfortably inside. Still, at least now it wasn't skin tight and people weren't being distracted by her, even with her strutting.

Austin had no significant information on Thane Krios so he felt that another visit to Xun was in order. As they entered her office, the Helldiver information broker looked very happy to see her old friend again.

"Shepard! Good to see you again!" she said happily.

"You too, Xun." Austin nodded.

"Please have a seat." Xun said as she indicated to the chair in front of her desk. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for Thane Krios. He's supposed to be here on Ilium." Austin replied as he sat down.

"The Assassin? Yes. He arrived here a few days ago." Said Xun as she read from a datapad in her right hand and held her metallic Chinese fan in the other, occasionally using it to fan herself. "My sources tell me he may be targeting a corporate executive, Nassana Dantius. He contacted woman named Seryna. Seryna has an office in the cargo transfer level. Perhaps she can tell you where Krios is."

"Thanks, Xun." Said Austin.

"Anytime, Shepard. If there's anything else you need, let me know." Xun smiled under Chinese decorated Helldiver helmet.

"So, how's your own work going?" Austin asked.

"Nothing new I'm afraid. Everyone needs information these days so much that it often holds me back from trying to find new leads on the Shadow Broker." Xun sighed. "Speaking of which, I still need that data I told you about."

"Oh, yes. Thanks for reminding me. I completely forgot." Said Austin.

"Not at all. Let me know when you hack those terminals." Said Xun.

"Talk to you later, old friend." Said Austin as he got up from his seat and left Xun's office.

" _Spirits be with you, Shepard"_ Xun said in Chinese.

* * *

The system hacking was pretty simple. It simply involved hacking one server and then quickly uploading the data to another while it was open. After doing this about 5 times, Austin had finally got all the data uploaded. Xun's voice came in over his intercom.

" _Shepard, this is Xun. I've got the data. Come by my office alter today when you have time."_ She said.

That would have to wait until later. Right now, Austin had a Drell assassin to recruit.

* * *

The group made their way to the cargo transfer levels of Illium, Sure enough; they found an office with two Asari at desks.

"Seryna?" Austin asked.

"Who wants to know?" replied a purple Asari. Austin guessed this was Seryna.

"Major Shepard of the Helldivers. Xun told me you might have information on Thane Krios." Austin replied.

Seryna stood up from her desk and turned to the Asari sitting near her.

"Tana. Cover for me." she said. She then turned back to Austin. "Over here."

They were now out of earshot of everyone else.

"Yeah, I know who Thane Krios is. I might have passed him some information, but I didn't hire him. What you want to know about him?" Seryna asked.

"Maybe you could help me find him." Austin suggested.

"I can tell you, but you won't stop him. When he contacted me, I checked up on him. The man never gives up on a job. I ran security for Nassana Dantius. Then I found out she was having people killed to cover up her dirty secrets. She fired me when I confronted her. Her loss. I might have been good enough to stop Thane from taking her down." said Seryna.

"Nassana… Nassana… why does that name sound familiar?" Austin said as he tried to remember where he had heard the beam Nassana Dantius before. It sounded very familiar.

"She was a representative on the Citadel a few years ago." Seryna replied.

Then the Helldiver remembered. Two years ago, just before the battle of the Citadel, an Asari had recruited him to rescue her sister from kidnappers. It turned out though that the sister had actually been a slaver and had been blackmailing Nassana. The Asari had lied to Austin.

"Right. She had me kill her sister – the slaver." he said.

"I thought that was just a rumour. Well, you know what she's capable of, then. She has even more power here in Nos Astra. She uses it to keep her friends in check and her enemy's dead." said Seryna.

"So where do I find Thane?" Austin asked.

"The Dantius Towers. Penthouse level of Tower One." "There's a second tower, still under construction. If Thane is smart, he'll go in from there." Seryna explained.

"It doesn't sound like Nassana's just going to let us in." said Austin.

"She's as smart as she is paranoid. No one's getting in or out of there without a fight. I can get you in, but you'll only have one shot. You'd better be ready." said Seryna.

"Let's get going, then." said Austin. He didn't really have anything else that needed doing at the moment. He could go back to talk with Xun, but he ultimately decided to get the recruitment done first before anything else.

"Good. I'm tired of this crap. We'll go tonight, as soon as the shift workers clear out of Tower Two." said Seryna.

* * *

Since they'd once again be dealing Eclipse mercs, Austin changed his choice to now have Alaara, Ventra and Grunt. Not only would he need Alaara's experience with Eclipse mercs, but Grunt's hard fighting styles and also Ventra's archery skills would mostly likely prove handy. True enough, Ventra had now switched permanently to his bow and arrow and hadn't made a request for a replacement sniper rifle. Austin actually approved of his. Now Ventra and Garrus could have slightly different uses. While Garrus could handle the sniping, Ventra would be able to handle situations better suited for a bow and arrow. If they were in a jungle for example, Ventra would be very good at hunting. The Turian could also do stealth kills. All sniper rifles these days weren't fitted with silencers anymore, which was rather disappointing.

Ilium looked extremely pretty at night time. The millions of bright and coloured lights reminded Austin of the times when he'd looked out at the vast city of Arkadia at night when he was much younger.

"Admiring the view?" Alaara asked.

"It reminds me of home." Austin replied.

"Home as in Arkadia?" Ventra asked as they climbed into Seryna's sky car.

"Yeah. Remember that I was born and bred in space. Arkadia's only ever been my true home." Said Austin.

The sky car doors closed and the car slowly hovered of the ground before speeding off into the slowly setting sunset.

"The towers are heavily guarded, and you'll find more resistance closer to the penthouse. So, this assassin—you planning to stop him?" Seryna asked.

"I'm just here to make sure he survives." Austin simply replied from the passenger seat.

"Hmm." Seryna simply replied.

At these sorts of hours, there were much less other cars up here in Ilium's high skies, so they didn't have to worry about being held in traffic or anything like that. Soon, two large towering skyscrapers could be seen in the distance. True to what Seryna had said, one of them was still under construction.

"There they are: the Dantius Towers. You'll have to get up the second tower and cross the bridge to the penthouse. Her mercs will fight you every step, but it's your best chance." Said Seryna.

"Nothing we can't handle." Said Ventra as he checked one of his arrows.

"Why don't we just save time and take the shuttle up?" Austin asked.

"She's got mercs with rockets just waiting for you to try. You'd get maybe half-way up before they shot you down. Besides, your assassin won't go in that way. Best to go in low." Said Seryna.

"All right. Let's do this." Said Austin.

"Hold on." Said Seryna as she began steering the sky car away from the main crowd.

The car flew for several more miles before setting down on a small pad on the outside of the towers. Even at this altitude, it was clear this was intended to be the entrance when construction had finished.

"Don't linger too long: they'll be here to greet you soon enough." Said Seryna as they all got out. Austin briefly paused to just look at the sheer size of the tower as he went to close the car's door. "Good luck, Shepard."

The door closed and Seryna flew the car away.

Everything seemed mostly quiet, but for a Helldiver, silence was far from peaceful. They were always trained to sense danger in a way that many people would not. Some were even clever enough to use the training in such a way that they could predict a person's action before they even did them.

A shot suddenly rang out in the distance. The team looked in the direction. Two Salarian workers were attempting to flee from two LOKI and Fenris mechs. One was shot instantly while the other attempted to run. He didn't get far though before the mechs shot him as well.

The mechs quickly reloaded their guns as they suddenly noticed the three Helldivers and Grunt standing just outside the glass window covering the entrance. The mech dogs also took notice and immediately started running at the intruders.

"Enemies already. Good! I'll tear them apart!" Grunt roared as he unholstered his Claymore shotgun.

The three Helldivers did the same and unholstered their preferred weapons as they went into cover.

The Fenris mechs smashed through the glass window and ran at their targets. One of them jumped at Ventra as the other ran at Grunt. Ventra was quick to react to this situation as he stood up from cover slightly. As the Fenris mech nearly landed on him, he brought his bow up like a shield. Just as the robotic dog landed on his arm, he quickly flung it away in the other direction.

The other Fenris mech meanwhile ran directly at Grunt who wasn't intimidated by this at all and charged the dog.

The Fenris mech that Ventra had just counter attacked rolled around on the floor slightly before it managed to get back up. Once again, it ran at the Turian. But this time, Ventra was ready for it. He quickly took a stun arrow from his quiver and drew it back on his bow. He paused very briefly as he waited for the dog mech to get a bit closer.

Grunt meanwhile was now wrestling very violently with the other Fenris mech who was attempting to pin the Krogan to the ground. Austin and Alaara meanwhile where taking cover from the LOKI mechs who had now managed to catch up with their dog counterparts.

The other Fenris mech readied to jump at Ventra, but the Turian released his bow string. The stun arrow shot at its target and went right through the Mech's neck and embedded itself in the ground. The Fenris struggled as much as it could to get free, but it was no use. The mech was stuck to the ground.

With the dog unable to do anything, Ventra simply walked up and brought his left wrist back. His own omni blade activated and he plunged it into the mechs torso. The dog jarred for a minute before it then shut down and went limp. Ventra then pulled the arrow gently back out. He liked to reuse his arrows if possible. They were designed to be used more than once anyway.

Grunt meanwhile finally managed to pin the other Fenris mech to the ground, but found that he'd dropped his Claymore during the wrestling.

"Grunt, catch!" Ventra yelled as he picked up the dropped Claymore and threw it to the Krogan. Grunt caught and smashed the end hard into the mechs face.

"Too late! Now you're dead!" he yelled as he unloaded two rounds into it.

Alaara meanwhile was keeping the mechs occupied while Austin was cloaked and sneaking up behind them. The Major materialised out of nowhere right behind one of the mechs and grabbed it around the neck. The other LOKI mech took notice of this and went to aim at him, but Austin grabbed the gun arm of the one he was currently holding onto and aimed it at the mech. He fired several shots which hit the mech in the chest and finally managed to take out its head. The other one still struggled violently to break free of his grip, so much so that it even managed to give him a punch as its arms flayed about wildly.

"Ow! Shouldn't have done that!" Austin said crossly as he gave the mechs neck a violent twist and finally tore its head off.

"Guess it's too late to try and take it stealthily." Said Ventra.

"Come on. Let's get moving." Said Austin.

As they proceeded through the entrance, they found the body of one of the Salarian workers that had been shot earlier. However there was only one.

"I could've sworn there were two of them." Said Alaara, puzzled as she looked around.

Then they suddenly heard a voice.

"Help…" it whimpered.

They immediately looked in the direction of the noise. Sure enough, there was the other Salarian. He was bleeding from his gunshot wound, but still alive.

"You're still alive?" Ventra asked.

"I can't feel my legs… my chest is killing me." The worker managed to say.

"Who did this to you? And why?" Austin asked as he knelt down in front of the Salarian.

"We're just night workers! Nassana… sent them after us… She sent the mechs to rounds us up, but we didn't hear… They just started shooting…" the Salarian wheezed. He sounded as though he could barely breathe.

"They just attacked you?" Alaara asked.

"Yes… we were too slow. It was horrible. Everyone…screaming… The mercs said there was no time. Nassana wanted us out of the way… immediately." The Salarian said. That was before he started to cough very badly, blood spurting out of his mouth. "Then… the dogs… I can't breathe…"

"Here. That should ease the pain and keep you alive until help arrives." Said Austin as he activated his omni tool and applied some medi gel to the Salarian's wounds.

"Really? This guy? Why?" said Grunt. The Krogan however fell silent when Austin gave him a cold stare from behind his helmet.

"We never leave innocents to die, no matter what their race." He said as he helped the Salarian worker. "How's that?" he asked.

"I think I'm better… Find the other workers. Help them." Said the Salarian. He sounded better now and could at least stand.

"We'll do what we can." Said Austin.

"Thank you." Said the Salarian as he limped off.

"Let's get moving." Said Austin.

* * *

They took it slowly so as to avoid attracting attention. They were also careful to make sure the coast was clear and also that there weren't any security cameras.

"It's a shame we can't bring everyone on these missions. Leena would certainly be a big help here." Alaara sighed as Austin threw a sensor grenade into the open. Nothing showed up.

"Keep your eyes open. I've got a feeling that we're bound to run into some mercs pretty soon." Austin advised.

They proceeded up a nearby ramp before arriving at another level. There was a small tunnel just above their heads. Just as the door closed however, they suddenly heard voices coming from inside the pipe.

"Hey – I think he went in here." They heard a man's voice say.

"Well, go get him." Said a woman.

"You go."

"Get your ass in there. Nassana's not paying you to stay around."

"Fine… but I…" the man went to say, but he was cut off as there was suddenly the sound of a struggle of some kind. Then suddenly, the limp body of an Eclipse merc fell through the pipe and landed at their feet. Alaara and Ventra couldn't help but flinch slightly in surprise.

"Think that was the Assassin?" Austin asked as he examined the body. As Austin had suspected, the merc's neck had been broken.

"Must've been. Eclipse mercs don't turn one another just like that without good reason." Said Alaara.

At that moment, Ventra hushed everyone and told them to be silent.

"Hear that?" he asked.

Everyone listened for a moment. They could just hear the faint sound of voices. There were more mercs nearby.

"Take it slowly." Said Austin.

The four of them slowly made their way to look around the corner. As Austin looked around however, he found an Eclipse Asari staring right at him.

"Crap." Austin groaned.

Almost immediately, all the other mercs appeared out of cover and aimed their guns at them.

"Freeze!" the Asari yelled.

Austin looked at the others and simply nodded. Almost immediately, each one of them ran. Grunt and Ventra ran to cover while Austin and Alaara ran to either side of the lobby they appeared to be in. The Eclipse mercs instantly opened fire on them and the whole place was filled with gunfire, thermal clips, and loads of floor and wall plates being shot off.

Austin fired several shots from his Revenant as he ran behind on of the pillars and to the other side of the room. Even here though, the Eclipse had obviously been alerted somehow and they opened fire on him too. Most of the shots missed the Helldiver and simply hit the walls instated which made an absolute mess of everything as the air was filled with dust and concrete and many other pieces of the building materials that had been used to build this lobby. Some shots did manage to hit Austin, but his shields and armour were designed to absorb these and they simply bounced off. Nevertheless, Austin rolled behind one of the pillars so that his shields had long enough to recharge. Though his armour could take this sort of punishment, it had its limits.

"Reloading!" he shouted as he disposed of his current thermal clip and put a new one into his Revenant. He also switched his plasma cannon on and turned the setting into automatic. It was times like these that he was very thankful that Dell had included this setting when he made the plasma cannons.

Alaara meanwhile had run to the opposite side of the room. Bricks and plates were flying everywhere from the constant gunfire. Two more mercs aimed at Alaara and fired. What the Asari Helldiver did next however, took them by surprise. Alaara ran at the wall and flipped right over their gunfire. She landed just out of their range and took cover behind the pillar she'd landed in front of.

The closest merc continued firing on the pillar as he advanced closer to it. As he did however, his rifle ran out and he quickly fumbled with another thermal clip on his belt. Alaara immediately made her move and ran out of cover.

The merc only noticed too late as the Asari Helldiver kicked the rifle out of his hands and then gave him two kicks in the face, the last of which broke his neck. An Eclipse vanguard then appeared and fired several shotgun rounds at Alaara as she ran back into cover.

Austin meanwhile was still pinned by behind the pillar on the other side of the lobby. Still he waited until they'd stopped firing to reload before he made his move. As the constant barrage of thermal clips ate away at the other side of the pillar, the Helldiver Major waited patiently. Finally, the gunfire ceased and Austin bolted out of cover, both his Revenant and his plasma cannon blazing. The combination of thermal clips and plasma fire managed to cut down at least five of the mercs.

The Vanguard who had shot at Alaara earlier had now aimed at Austin as he was advancing forward. Alaara noticed this and once again ran out of cover. Since the Vanguard was so focused on Austin, she never even saw the Helldiver coming. Alaara brought her leg right up and kicked the Vanguard's shotgun right out of her hands and then flipped it right over. With a lightning fast reflex, Alaara took the merc's shotgun in her hands and aimed it at the Vanguard's back. The Asari failed to react in time and Alaara shot her down instantly. Alaara even managed to gun down one of the other mercs before the rest noticed her and she retreated back into cover.

Austin meanwhile was still running as he was shooting. There were only about 3 of the mercs left now. Grunt and Ventra had taken care of the rest. As the mercs continued firing, Austin did a very fast roll. As he did, he unloaded his entire fresh clip into any merc he could. Now there were only two left as he got back into cover.

Once again, he waited until there was a break in their fire. When it came, he once again bolted back out and fired a plasma shot. The Merc held targeted went back into cover and stayed there as Austin ran forward. The other one meanwhile ran out to try and help his friend, but Austin fired another plasma shot and this one caught him.

The final merc attempted to melee Austin by smashing the butt of his rifle into the Helldiver's face, but Austin brought his wrist up and blocked it. With his other one, he quickly activated his omni blade and thrust it into the merc's chest.

There was a long silence as everyone took a moment to get their breath back. At that moment however, Austin's HUD lit up to show three silhouettes in the next room. Everyone immediately went into defensive positions and Alaara opened the door.

"Please… don't kill us! We'll go… we'll go…"

There were 3 Salarians in the rooms, all of them workers. Austin quickly lowered his weapon and the others did the same.

"Hey, look… they're not Eclipse. They're Helldivers! You're here to help us… right?" one of the Salarians asked.

"It's one reason we're here. Come on out. It's safe enough." Said Austin reassuringly.

"Thank you. We are in your debt." Said one of the Salarians as he and the others calmed down.

"Maybe you can help us. We're looking for someone. Not a merc – he's on his own." Austin asked.

"Well whoever sealed us in here…" said one of the Salarians.

"When he found us, I thought we were dead. But he just closed the door and locked us in." said the other.

"Could be him, but that's odd behaviour for an assassin." Said Alaara.

"Assassin?" asked one of the Salarians.

"Here for Nassana, I bet. She's got it coming. You treat people like this; it always comes back to bite you in the ass." Said the other.

"If I were you, I wouldn't stay too long. It should be safe down on the lower floors." Said Austin.

"I was just thinking the same thing. Let's go everybody." Said the lead Salarian.

He and the other left, one stayed behind briefly.

"Thank you. And tell your assassin to aim for her head… 'cause she doesn't have heart!" he said coldly.

"Get moving." Said the lead.

The final Salarian left and now it was just Austin and the others.

The only way up now was by using the elevator.

"I've got a feeling that elevator isn't coming down empty." Said Alaara as Austin pressed the button to summon the elevator.

"We should get behind… stuff." Said Grunt.

The three Helldivers agreed and went into cover behind some nearby crates and Austin took cover behind several staked floor plates.

After a few seconds, the elevator arrived at their floor. Austin's heart was beating rather fast in his chest as he kept thinking of what was going to be in that elevator and how many.

" _Mezzanine. Have a pleasant stay."_ Said elevators synthetic female voice.

The doors flung open and two Eclipse engineers and a Krogan bounty hunter walked out. The whole place once again became a filled with gunfire as the team started shooting. The engineers fell rather quickly due to the fact that they'd been completely unprepared for the Helldivers, but the Bounty hunter proved more difficult.

That all changed however when Grunt suddenly did the same thing he'd done to Fenris mech before.

"I… am… Krogan!" he yelled as the two Krogan wrestled violently with each other. While the Bounty Hunter was much larger, Grunt was much stronger and he let his rage drive him. Within a few seconds, Grunt knocked the bounty hunter's weapon out of his hands and started using his Claymore like a club as he continuously hit the bounty hunter in the face. So hard in fact that Grunt was causing the other Krogan's face to bleed with each strike.

None of the Helldivers dared shoot in case they accidently hit Grunt. Besides, it didn't really look as though the tank bred Krogan needed any help. The Bounty hunter then suddenly grabbed Grunt's claymore and attempted to push him back. Grunt quickly countered this attack as he head butted the bounty hunter so hard that he toppled over. Grunt didn't waste any time and pinned the Krogan bounty hunter to the floor and kept smashing the Claymore into his head non-stop.

After several hits, Austin finally grabbed Grunt and just managed to pull the Krogan away.

"Grunt, that's enough! Grunt! He's finished! You've done enough!" he yelled.

Grunt struggled for a bit, but eventually managed to calm down.

"That was fun." He panted.

Now that Grunt had calmed down, everyone filed into the elevator and Austin hit the up button with his forearm. The doors closed and the elevator began its journey up the tower.

* * *

The elevator doors opened to show one Eclipse merc. He was on his own and appeared to be talking through his comlink to someone.

"I haven't heard from Teams Four or Five. Don't worry; my team is always ready to go. I don't know where he is, not yet. Don't worry about it. We don't need any reinforcements. I'll take care of it." he said.

The group approached the merc very slowly so as not to alert him

"It's under control. I'll go down there myself." He said, still oblivious to the three Helldivers and Krogan now standing behind him.

"Let me handle this. I know how Eclipse thinks." Said Alaara. Austin simply nodded.

"Turn around, very slowly." He said as he activated his plasma cannon and pointed it at the merc. Ventra also drew an arrow on his bow and readied to fire, and Grunt also pointed his shotgun.

"Damn it!" the merc cursed as he noticed them.

"Tell us where the Assassin is, and we might let you live." Alaara demanded.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be wasting my time talking to you. You're clearly not one of Nassana's mercs. You're Helldivers. What do you want?" the merc replied back.

"You've got two ways down: express or coach – your choice." Austin said intimidatingly.

"Look pal, even if I knew where he was, I wouldn't tell you." Said the merc.

"Not the answer I was looking for." Said Alaara.

"I've got nothing more to say to you…" the merc said, but before he could finish, Alaara gave him a sharp kick which smashed him through the glass window he was stood in front of and he was sent plummeting down, screaming as he fell.

"How 'bout "goodbye." Alaara finished coldly as she watched the merc fall.

"Harsh, but I guess he had it coming." Said Austin.

The group turned back. There were two doors on either side of the elevator they had just come out of. As they entered, they heard raised voices. There were more mercs and they appeared to be communicating with a female voice. Austin quickly recognised Nassana Dantius' voice.

"He's all over the place." said one of the mercs.

 _"What do you mean?"_ Nassana asked.

"We've got reports of him on multiple levels. We think he's traveling through the ducts…" the merc replied.

 _"I'm not paying you to think. Just find him. Now!"_ Nassana yelled.

"Take 'em." Austin whispered.

Ventra nodded and drew another arrow back. He let it fly and shot forward, taking out two mercs in the process.

"What the…?" one of them said. But before he could do anything, Austin fired a plasma shot at him and he was quickly disintegrated. Once again, the group noticed that there were more Salarian workers in the next room.

"Are you guys alright in here?" Austin asked as they entered.

As soon as he spoke however, one of the Salarians suddenly pointed a gun right at them.

"Get back! Get back… I'll shoot." He said.

"Drop the gun, lizard." Grunt threatened.

"I don't want to hurt you… but I will. I said get back! I'll do it! Please… don't make me do it." The Salarian said hesitantly.

"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here. What's your name?" Austin asked in a clam and gentle voice, despite his sinister voice tone from his helmet.

"I… I'm Telon. Don't… come any closer." Said the Salarian.

"Telon, I'm Major Shepard. I don't work with the mercs, and I don' work with the mercs and I don't want to hurt you. I'm here to help you." Said Austin gently.

"I… all right… here…" said Telon as he handed Austin the pistol. "I… don't feel so…"

Telon suddenly fainted. Another one of the Salarians ran up to him and kneeled down over him.

"Telon!"

"Slow and easy." Said Austin as his plasma cannon locked onto the Salarian's sudden move.

"He's my brother. I just want to see if he's alright. Are you the ones who… shot the merc?" the Salarian asked.

"I don't think so. We certainly didn't kill that particular one. Your brother didn't do it?" Austin asked as he looked at the dead body of an Eclipse merc.

"No. Telon was standing here with me." Said the Salarian.

"What happened, exactly?" Austin asked.

"The merc found us and shouted at us to move. We panicked, and he shouted more. I thought he was going to kill us… then… his head just exploded. Telon picked up the merc's gun, but we were too afraid to leave. Then you showed up." The Salarian explained.

"That's a clean head shot alright." Said Ventra as he examined the merc's body.

"There are still mercs up here. You should get to the lower levels" said Austin.

"No need to convince me." Said the Salarian. He then gently helped Telon back onto his feet. "Telon… come on, get up."

"Can we go home now?" Telon asked.

"Yeah, we're getting out of here." Said the Salarian. He then turned to Austin as they left. "Thank you."

The group headed back out as the Salarian's left. Nassana's voice could once again be heard shouting over the radio for her mercs to report back.

" _Where is everyone?"_

" _Will somebody please give me a report!"_

Austin walked up to the panel and accessed it.

 _"It's about time! What's going on down there?"_ Nassana asked.

"I'm afraid your men aren't able to respond, Nassana." said Austin.

" _Damn it!"_ Nassana cursed and the transmission ended.

* * *

The group continued their journey towards the bridge. They were now so high up that was starting to get very windy. Pretty soon, the bridge was in sight. As expected, more of the Eclipse where waiting for them.

" _I don't care what you do; no one gets across that bridge!"_ Nassana's voice yelled over a loud speaker.

The mercs opened fire and the whole thing now turned into a bridge battle. Despite this though, the Helldivers where slowly pushing forward.

" _What the hell are you waiting for? Just kill them!"_ Nassana yelled.

The mercs now started using rocket launchers and one of them deployed two security drones.

"Heavy fire! Get to cover!" Austin yelled as he ducked behind a nearby crate on the bridge. The bridge in particular suffered from the worst of the wind and it was now extremely difficult to keep balance. Even Ventra's aim was being thrown off and his arrow's weren't hitting their targets as the wind kept blowing the arrows away when they were fired.

Despite this though, the group eventually managed to make it to the other side. Now it was just a matter of finishing the rest of the mercs off.

" _I'm sending in reinforcements."_ Nassana yelled.

Sure enough, an Asari biotic came out of the nearby door. Austin fired on her, but she had a biotic barrier up. Clever.

Austin dove back into cover to avoid the Asari's biotic attacks. At last now, they were all out of the wind.

"Can you take her?" he asked Alaara.

"Maybe. She's a tough bitch." said Alaara.

The Asari Helldiver came out of cover and launched her own biotic attack at the Eclipse Asari.

The two biotic attacks smashed into each other and now both Asari where locked as they attempted to overpower one another. Anything that wasn't fastened down was caught in the biotics field and floated around.

" _Damn it! Finish them off!"_ Nassana yelled.

The Eclipse Asari groaned and attempted to overpower hear opponent. Sweat dripped from her skin and her nose bled slightly due to her severe amount of concentration. Alaara however, didn't budge and gave a mighty push. Her immense biotic powers overloaded her opponents and the Eclipse Asari was flung against the wall. She hit it hard and fell to the floor dead.

"Good work, Alaara." said Austin.

No more of the mercs where left now. Nothing would stand in the way now of reaching Nassana.

* * *

Now they were in the penthouse. Sure enough, behind a large desk, stood Nassana Dantius. There were a few other Eclipse soldiers with her.

"Shepard? But… you're supposed to be dead!" she said, rather surprised to see the Helldivers.

"Oh really? Am I not?" Austin said sarcastically as he pretended to examine himself. "Well, I guess I got better."

"And now you're here to kill me." Said Nassana coldly as her mercs loaded their weapons and pointed them at the group. Alaara, Ventra and Grunt did the same and also drew their own weapons. Now both sides where in a Mexican stand-off.

"Maybe. Perhaps I just missed your generous company." Said Austin sarcastically.

"Screw you, Shepard!" said Nassana irritably.

"Still charming as ever, I see." Austin smiled sarcastically.

"I'm sure you find this all very ironic. First you take care of my sister, and now you're here for me. Well, you made it this far. Now what?" Nassana asked.

"You really think I'm here to kill you?" Austin asked back.

"Do you have another reason for destroying my tower? Decimating my security?" Nassana retorted.

"I'm just looking for someone." Austin replied.

"What the hell are you talking about? Is it credits? Is that what you want?" Nassana asked coldly.

"All the credits in the world won't make this problem go away, Nassana." Said Austin as he heard the very slightest sound of some bumping in the ceiling. He knew what it was almost instantly.

"Who the hell gave you the right to play god?!" Nassana retorted angrily. "I may not be perfect, but look at you. We both kill people for money. What's the difference?"

"You've brought this on yourself. I wouldn't stop it, even if I could." Austin said coldly as he crossed his arms.

"What do you mean? Of course you can stop it. Just don't…" Nassana went to say, but again the bump happened, louder this time. Nassana noticed her mercs where looking around. "What?" she asked irritably. As if she didn't have enough problems.

"I heard something." The Asari merc replied.

"Damn it. Check the other entrances!" Nassana ordered.

As the Asari merc left however, a figure suddenly dropped out of the vent right behind Nassana and the others.

"You… stay put. When I'm finished dealing with this nuisance, you and I are going to… Who…?" she said, as she suddenly noticed a Drell assassin snap the neck of one merc, punch the throat of another, shoot the last and then fling her arm aside as she drew her gun. Only too late did she notice the Drell's other arm had his own pistol pointed at her stomach. He pulled the trigger. Nassana groaned in pain as the bullet became embedded in her skin and she slowly felt the life leave her.

Thane Krios slowly laid the Asari's body gently on the desk.

"So, this is our guy? Good." said Grunt.

Austin waited for a long moment for Thane to say something. To Austin's surprise, it looked like he was praying. Very strange.

"I was hoping to talk to you." Austin said as he finally broke the silence

Thane looked up at Austin for a moment before he finally spoke.

"I apologise, but prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken." he said. He had a somewhat raspy voice.

As Austin stepped a bit closer to Thane, he finally saw the Drell properly without the sun in his eyes. He had light green skin and was dressed in some sort of dark grey outfit. It was fairly tight fitting, obviously designed for fast and flexible movements.

"Don't bother! You honestly think she deserves anything less?" Austin asked uncaringly. He shared no concern for Nassana's death.

"Not for her. For me. The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone. Take you, for instance. All this destruction… chaos. I was curious to see how far you'd go to find me." said Thane as he circled the desk until he was now on the other side. "Well… here I am."

"How did you know we were coming at all?" Alaara asked.

"I didn't. Not until you marched in the front door and started shooting. Nassana had become paranoid. You saw the strength of her guard force. She believed one of her sisters would kill her. You were a valuable distraction." said Thane.

"You used me. So you could kill her!" said Austin, a bit cross with that.

"I needed a diversion; you needed to speak with me. You certainly fulfilled your end of the bargain. What would you like to discuss?" Thane asked.

Ventra, Alaara and Grunt finally lowered their weapons as they finally saw that Thane wouldn't be a threat to them.

"Someone's been abducting entire human colonies. We're going to stop them. We already know the culprits – a race called the Collectors." said Austin.

"I've heard of them. Attacking the Collectors would require passing through the Omega 4 relays. No ship has ever returned from doing so." said Thane.

"They tell us it's a suicide mission. I intend to prove them wrong. Plus, to be fair, they told me it was impossible to get to Ilos." said Austin.

"A fair point." Thane laughed slightly. "This was to be my last job." he said as he looked out at Ilium's still setting sun. "I'm dying. Low survival odds don't concern me. The abduction of your colonists does."

"I hadn't heard that. Is there anything I can do?" Austin asked concernedly. The dossier hadn't mentioned at all that Thane was dying.

"Giving me this opportunity is enough. The universe is a dark place. I'm trying to make it brighter before I die. Many innocents died today. I wasn't fast enough, and they suffered. I must atone for that." said Thane. He then turned to face Austin and held out his hand. Austin shook it. "I will work for you, Shepard. No charge."

* * *

Thane walked into the comm room to find Austin, Alaara and Jacob waiting for him.

"I've heard impressive stories, Krios. Sounds like you'll be a fine asset to the team." Said Alaara welcomingly.

"That is if you're comfortable having an assassin watch your back." Jacob added.

"I've accepted a contract. My arm is Shepard's." said Thane calmly.

"Uh-huh. Don't know about you, but I'm loyal to more than my next pay check." said Jacob coldly.

"Obviously he is, too. He's doing this mission gratis. What's your concern, Taylor?" Austin asked.

"I don't like mercenaries. An assassin is just a precise mercenary." Jacob replied.

"An assassin is a weapon. A weapon doesn't choose to kill. The one who wields it does." "Where shall I put my things? I'd prefer someplace dry, if anything is available." said Thane.

"The area near the life support plant on the crew deck tends to be slightly more arid than the rest of the ship." Said EDI as her robotic avatar popped out of the table.

"Ah. An AI? My thanks." said Thane. The Drell bowed and then left the room.

"He seems quite civil." said EDI as her avatar disappeared.

"We need all the help we can get. He's not what I expected in an assassin. He may surprise you." said Austin.

"Yeah. And he may not." said Jacob.

"Mind your attitude, Taylor." Said Alaara coldly through gritted teeth.

"Still having a bit of trouble with him?" Austin asked as Jacob left the room.

"Jacob's alright. He's doing okay with everyone else. Miranda's still the same old Cerberus bitch ice queen." Alaara groaned slightly.

"That sounds more like something Jack would say." said Austin.

"She and I ended up talking for a bit while training in the simulator. She even joked that she wished she'd been there when I slapped Miranda for mouthing off to me." Alaara chuckled slightly.

"Yep, that sounds like Jack." Austin sighed.

"I should get back to work, Shepard." said Alaara as she saluted and went to leave..

"Alaara." Austin acknowledged as his second in command left the comm room.

* * *

"I'm surprised by Thane's spiritual side. His psych profile mentioned little of it, and he carries himself with such cold confidence. I'm not sure if I find him scary or sexy." Kelly commented when Austin came to talk with her.

"A lot of women like bad boys." Austin smiled.

"That is a dirty stereotype." Kelly laughed.

* * *

Now that the team was finally complete, Austin simply had to wait until the Collectors made another move. In the meantime, there was still plenty to keep him busy. Zaeed still had his own mission after all and Austin got the feeling that soon some of the others would have a certain thing that needed taken care of if they were to focus on the mission.

Since the Normandy was en-route to Zorya, Austin once again decided to have another chat with the crew. Samara was his first choice since he was starting to like the Justicar. There was something about her that brought out the best in him. The only other person that he knew could do that was Liara.

As expected, Samara was still in the observation room as was in the exact same meditation pose where she had been left. Still she was maintaining a biotic field of energy as her eyes glowed.

"Shepard." she said as she acknowledged his presence.

"I wanted to check in." said Austin.

"I am always happy to talk with you." Samara smiled. Her biotic field disappeared, but her eyes still remained glowing.

"I'm interested in hearing more about Justicars. The one my team worked with told us much, but she was rather young. I felt you might have more experience." said Austin.

"But of course." said the Justicar as she motioned for Austin to come closer. "I sense you are tired. Come and meditate with me. It will clear you're head." she said as the Helldiver walked up to her.

"Err… okay." Austin said hesitantly as he sat down next to Samara and mimicked her meditation position. Surprisingly it did actually seemed to help as Samara held his hand briefly and seemed to send some sort of mental imprint into his mind. His mind instantly relaxed and he felt calmer than he had for a long time

"Justicars hold a unique place in Asari culture. Justicars are from another era. Young Asari grow up watching vids about our adventures. Pure fiction, of course. Some Asari are uncomfortable with us, but so few Justicars exist that most have never met one." Samara explained.

"There are only so few?" Austin asked, surprised.

"Few Asari wish to make the sacrifices necessary to become one of us. And the training has a high casualty rate." said Samara.

"I know what that's like. Helldiver training is hardly what I would call easy." said Austin, remembering how the training pushed its soldiers to the limits. The Arkanes after all needed the best to wear the Helldiver exosuits.

"But it is worth it end the end, isn't it, Shepard?" Samara asked.

"Yes. Though I would say that while my side is about freedom, yours is more about justice." said Austin.

"Quite right. It is a life of constant danger. Throughout the entire galaxy, there are only a handful of us at any time." said Samara.

"I mean no offense by this, but why would anyone want to be a Justicar if it's that dangerous?" Austin asked.

Samara's expression seemed to sadden a bit before she eventually replied to the question.

"It is a deeply personal matter. Sometimes the most brutal path is the only honest one." she said.

"I know what you mean. Some Helldivers I know have joined for very personal reasons." said Austin, sharing Samara's feeling.

"It is fair to say that you and I are very much alike, Shepard. Both of us serve an order and fight for a noble cause." said Samara.

"Very true." "Can I ask about the Justicar code? It seems central to your life." Austin asked.

"It is five thousand sutras, and covers every situation one can encounter. I have memorized every word. There is only the Code." Samara explained.

"Sometimes justice calls for mercy." said Austin.

"It does not exist to bring about spiritual enlightenment. Its purpose is to punish the wicked and protect the innocent." said Samara.

"Strange. The Helldiver code is similar." said Austin.

"How so?" Samara asked curiously.

"We are granted certain freedoms from restrictions and rules to enable us to do our mission properly, but we still have a special set of rules to obey to make sure that we don't become corrupted by that power or attempt to abuse it." Austin explained.

"I am starting to notice a lot of similarities between our two orders." said Samara.

"Well, I'll bet Justicars existed before the Helldivers did. Maybe your order was an inspiration for them." Austin suggested.

"I would think so. You and your crew are honourable worriers to fight alongside. It is like working with other Justicars." Samara smiled.

"The Asari I've spoken to seem conflicted about Justicars." Austin inquired.

"In this age, people see shades of grey everywhere. The Code of the Justicar is black and white. I might seem a hero to many, but I would kill all of them if I had to." Samara explained.

"That seems a bit cold." said Austin sternly.

"Does not mean I take no pleasure in doing so." Samara finished.

At that, Austin understood. He was very much the same too. Just because killing was common in his line of work, it did not mean he had to enjoy it.

"So, what role do you think Justicars have in Asari society?" Austin asked.

"I would certainly say that they are very similar to your Helldivers. In human terms, I'd say the closest equivalent is a knight errant, in your medieval lore. Perhaps mixed with a bit of Samurai." Samara replied.

"You know about knights errant and Samurai?" Austin asked. He was pleasantly surprised that the Justicar knew so much about human culture and history.

"When I knew I must leave Asari space, I made sure that I visited Arkadia first. There, I stayed a few years and studied the history, culture and morals of new species. When I was a maiden wandering the galaxy, humans had not yet arrived, nor did the Helldivers yet exist." said Samara.

"What did your studies tell you about my people?" Austin asked.

"You are more individualistic than any other species I have encountered. If three humans are in a room, there will be six opinions. I like your species; I am curious to see what you will do." Samara smiled.

"What does your code say about killing?" Austin asked.

"I am compelled to kill the wicked. If a Justicar is involved, peaceful solutions are long past." Samara replied.

"You make killing sound so casual." said Austin, a bit surprised that Samara would be used to this sort of thing. Then again, he couldn't necessarily argue. He was the very much the same.

"I remember each being I have slain. They are always in my thoughts." Samara replied.

Austin decided to just leave it at that and pick another topic.

"Does the Code forbid romantic involvement?" he asked.

For a moment, Samara hesitated before replying.

"It does not. However, I would never be interested in such. That part of my life is well behind me." she said.

"You could meet someone who reawakens those desires." Austin suggested. He quickly realised how that might sound however and sincerely hoped that Samara wouldn't take that the wrong way. To his relief however, Samara remained clam, and there was no hint of anger or shyness in her voice.

"I am nearly one thousand years old. I know myself and my desires." she said. The Justicar then smiled slightly as she looked directly at Austin. "But your curiosity is quite welcome."

Austin couldn't help but avert his gaze for a minute as he attempted to get rid of the image of a nude Samara out of his head. Samara seemed to notice his embarrassment.

"Do not worry about being embarrassed, Shepard. Many young males of your age fantasize about Asari like me being naked. I am used to it these days." Samara said casually. She did look as though she might just be laughing a bit.

"Before I go, do you have any suggestions about using some of the resources we've gathered?" Austin asked.

"I can use some of them to increase our fuel reserves so we can explore further. Shall I tell you what is required?" Samara replied.

"Sure. What's it gonna take?" Austin asked.

Samara showed Austin what it would take to make her design for the fuel upgrade. It only really required a lot of Element Zero and the right scientific expertise to build it. Nothing that Mordin, Dell and Sill couldn't handle.

Thank you for the talk. Also, thank you very much for allowing me to meditate with you. It's helped a lot. Let's do it again sometime." said Austin as he stood up.

"It had been my pleasure, Shepard. I'm glad we spoke." said Samara as she went back to her own meditations.

* * *

"Hey, Shepard. Come for another chat?" Jack asked as she noticed Austin.

Once again, Austin had decided to have another chat with Jack. She still seemed cold to him, but her attitude certainly seemed to be improving.

"Tell me something I don't know about you." said Austin.

"Nothing to tell. Why?" Jack replied.

"I like to get to know the people I'll be working with. If you'd really rather not, I'll just go." said Austin. If Jack really hated him talking to her that much, he'd just leave her alone. After all, he knew what her temper was like and the last thing he wanted was to piss her off.

"No, stay. I hate to admit it, but I think I'm getting used to you talking with me." "Something you don't know, huh? Obvious stuff like what's up with my ink, or something else just as boring? You're not really interested unless it affects you. I've been through all this shit before." said Jack as she stood up and once again leant against a nearby pole as she usually did during their talks.

"You're a hard person to like, Jack. Such a shame." Austin sighed as he crossed his arms.

"Really? I had no idea. What other amazing insights do you have that I'm too stupid to see?" Jack asked in a somewhat teasing manner.

"I'll bite. What's with all the tattoos?" Austin asked as he looked at the ones he could see. It wasn't easy now that Jack was wearing her new, less revealing outfit.

"Some are for prisons I've been in. Some are for kills. You know, good ones. Some are for things I've lost. Those aren't your business. They're nobody's business. And some are because, hey, why the fuck not?" said Jack.

"You're tough, but you can't have survived alone all these years." Austin inquired.

"When I was starting out, I ran with this girl Manara and her boyfriend. They knew their way around. I thought they'd help me. Right. They helped me into their bed. And when we finally did take down something big, they helped themselves to my share of the take. I knew where it was heading, and I got them first. Never bothered with friends after that." Jack explained.

"You work pretty hard at not letting people get close." said Austin.

"I've been with lots of people. If you're asking about a boyfriend or girlfriend, no. It's a waste of time and it never works. You let someone get that close, it just means they need a shorter knife. Lonely and alive works just fine, thanks." Jack replied.

"Seems like you miss it a little more than you want to admit." said Austin.

"Pick every little word apart if you want, but it doesn't change the way the galaxy works. Come on, you've been around." said Jack.

"I have to go, but we should do this again." said Austin as he turned to leave. Before he could however, Jack stopped him.

"Wait. My turn with the questions. People usually walk by now. Why are you really asking all these things? You eyeing me up? Because if this is just about sex, maybe you should just fucking say so." Jack asked.

Austin turned back to face Jack.

"Okay then. Hey, Jack. You wanna fuck?" he asked sarcastically.

Jack however had a completely different reaction to what he'd expected.

"Let's go."

The convict then suddenly swung at him, punching him right in the face and knocking him back. Before he could regain his balance, Jack then leapt on him and wrapped her arms around him as they fell onto the floor with a loud clang.

Her mouth latched onto his before he even had a chance to protest and began kissing him aggressively. Finally, he managed to push Jack away from him and held her at a distance.

"You know you want to." Jack smiled seductively. "Can already feel your dick getting hard."

Austin was silent for a moment before finally replying.

"Ah the hell with it." he sighed.

He then reached up and grabbed the straps hiding Jack's breasts. With a violent pull, he ripped them off completely. Surprisingly, Jack was nowhere near as flat chested as she looked with the straps. Seemed they held her tits down so much in an attempt to avoid unwanted attention.

"Now that's more like it!" Jack growled. "Come 'ere."

Forcing Austin back against the floor she once again kissed him, attacking his mouth with such aggressiveness that he'd never seen in any woman before. At the same time she also grabbed his shirt and ripped it apart in just a few pulls.

With Austin's muscular chest and eight pack exposed, Jack abandoned the kiss and began planting several more aggressive ones down his neck and then onto his left pec which she also bit into causing Austin to groan slightly.

Jack then once again went back to kissing him. Something about this in turn brought out a new aggressiveness in Austin as well. Grabbing Jack by the arms, he flipped them over so that he was now on top. Jack though didn't let that stand for more than a second before she pushed AUstin off of her and back onto his feet.

Both of them were still clothed below the waist, but as Jack pinned Austin against the wall, her nails digging into his abs, it soon became clear she was about to change that as she slowly started going lower. Finally she was eye level with the bulge. The convict licke dher lips as she took hold of Austin's trousers. It was quickly obvious she was not going to simply take them off.

"Now, lets see what you're packing in here, soldier boy."

There was a loud rip as Jack tore Austin's trousers apart. His boxers quickly followed as well as Jack ripped them off as well. The following reaction was what Austin had expected, and he couldn't help but smile smugly as Jack's eyes widened in shock and her mouth dropped open at the sight of his rock hard cock freed from it's confines.

Jack was almost in awe as she slowly took it in her hand. A slight moan escaped from her as she touched it. The felt the bulging veins against her palm, the heat of the blood pumping inside it. It made her so wet.

"Fucking hell, Shepard! And you only let your Asari whore have it? Fuck that! This huge cock's mine now!" she said wildly.

And with that, Jack extended her tongue out and gave the cock a long hard lick from the base all the way to the tip. Austin was unable to hold back a pleasured sigh as she did so.

As Jack's tongue reached the tip she then opened wide and slowly began to slide it in and out of her mouth, attempting to take in as much of it as she could. She moaned in pleasure as she savored the taste of both the cock and the pre cum it was leaking from the tip. Jack had taken many cocks in her time, but this was by far one of the best. Bigger than any human cock she'd taken before, nice and juicy, an overall good taste, and it was a attached to man who was decently handsome and a well muscular and attractive body and was very well endowed. SHe was almost jealous of Liara now for getting such a fine piece of meat before she did.

 Maybe... just maybe... she'd found a new, and possibly permanent, fuck buddy. She knew right away that she was not going to let this session by the last and only one. She was damn well gonna fuck Shepard again, even if she had to restrain and rape him.

Jack began to attempt to take Austin even deeper now. Despite her best efforts though she was struggling. As good as she was at sucking cock, the long length of Austin's was a tough challenge even for her. In the end, the convict was forced to give up when she reached the 3/4 point. Anymore and she might choke. Still, she wasn't gonna let that spoil the evening. She sure as hell had plenty more tricks up her sleeve.

"Where have you been my whole life?" Jack panted, talking directly to his cock as she paused to catch a breath before once again plunging the cock back into her mouth.

 Austin had to give Jack credit, she sure knew how to use her mouth. And it seemed the surprises didn't stop there.

Jack lifted herself up higher until she had his cock lined up with her breasts. Despite their decent size though, it was clear they weren't large enough to give him a tit fuck. But it seemed that had not been the convicts intention. With ehr right hand still grasping his cock, Jack used her other hand to grab one of her breasts. She then brought the two close enough until the head of Austin's cock touched her nipple. She pushed against him a bit more until his cock was now pressing very firmly into her breasts. She then gently moved his cock so that it spread his precum all around her areola, leaving it wet and glistening. At the same time it also made his movements against her flesh smoother as the sensitive head continued to rub against the skin of her breast.

"You like how that feels? You like that?!" Jack asked in a horny tone.

Austin's only response was a nod, followed by a moan of pleasure.

"You like the feel of my tit on your dick?." Jack said aggressively.

Having spread a fair amount of pre cum now, Jack let her breast fall away. She then used her hand to spread what remained before then edging it up just enough that she was able to lick some of it into her mouth.

"I want more... and you're gonna fucking give it to me, stud!" she growled.

She then plunged Austin's cock back into her mouth with force, so much so that she managed to go a little bit deeper this time. Austin threw back his head in pleasure, unable to stop his hands from reaching for Jack's head. Keeping her head in place, he made sure that Jack stayed where she was. Jack at first tried to resist, but it soon changed back to licking and sucking.

That, coupled Jack fondling his balls, soon drove Austin over the edge. Still keeping Jack in place, he moaned as he came in Jack's mouth. The convict swallowed what she could, but in the end she ended up gagging and some of the cum trickled out of her mouth and down the shaft. 

When the final spurt had left his cock, Austin finally let Jack go and his cock slid out of her mouth.

"Nice cum, bitch." she panted with a smile, cum dripping from her mouth.

 Something about being called that brought out a newfound aggressiveness in Austin. He suddenly grabbed Jack, hauled her up onto her feet and pushed her against her nearby crate, bending her over with her still clothed ass sticking out.

 Jack attempted to push herself back up, but Austin used his right hand to keep Jack down, his immense strength met with little resistance. He then grabbed Jack's trousers with his free hand and yanked them down along with her underwear.

"What the fuck are you..."

 But Jack's word were interrupted as Austin thrust his cock right into her pussy with such force that she screamed.

"The only bitch here is you." he said as he began thrusting into her slowly but deeply.

He allowed Jack to arch her back up again until she now rested against his chest. Her hand hand reached back and ruffled his hair as he continued thrusting deep into her. His pace started to increase as he reached round and gripped on her breasts tightly. Soon he began to thrust faster and harder. 

"About fucking time!" Jack moaned. "Now shut up and fuck me hard!"

Austin upped the pace even more. Jack continued to moan as his hips slapped against hers One of Jack's hands reached round and grabbed one of his ass cheeks as he kept hilting himself inside her.

 "Having fun?" Austin grunted as he upped the pace even more, making Jack moan loudly.

 "Fuck! You're so big!"

 Austin brought his hand down hard on Jack's ass. The convict moaned as his hand slapped her cheek really hard.

"Deeper! Fuck me deeper!" she panted.

Austin increased the pace now to an almost blurring speed. Jack's moaning had almost gone silent due to the unimaginable pleasure she was in. Austin couldn't help but feel proud about this. This was hardly the first time he'd done something like this to a woman, but to still be able to do it to someone like Jack who'd probably had even more sex than he had... quite an accomplishment. And regardless, this was sex he was not going to forget, especially given how Jack somehow brought out a wildness in him. He never recalled beign this aggressive with any woman before, even with Liara he was never this violent.

 "Harder!" Jack moaned.

 Austin kne win the end he couldn't do much more to improve. His hips were thrusting as fast as they could and at this angel he couldn't go much deeper. But then he suddenly thought of way that he could...

"Okay then, you asked for this."

Austin grabbed both of Jack's legs and hoisted them up until Jack was now essentially on top of him, his cock still in her pussy.

Now Austin could let gravity help him go deeper. He could already feel Jack's wetness trickling down his exposed cock and running over his balls as well. Jack only moaned more in pleasure and ecstasy, even moving a hand down to rub her pussy as she observed the Helldiver's massive cock moving in and out of her as he bounced her on top of him.

She had to admit also, Austin was as strong as he looked. Not that she was that heavy to begin with anyway, but still, it didn't feel like he was struggling to hold her up or anything meaning he could put all his strength into his thrusts which were indeed going even deeper now.

"I've never had a cock this big! You're a fucking gift from above, Shepard!" the convict moaned through gritted teeth.

"You ain't so bad yourself." Austin grunted.

 Jack then tried to make the next move. She managed to swing herself around so that she was now facing Austin, his cock still in her. Whilst one hand once again grabbed onto his buttocks for stability, her othe rhand tried to go round his neck. Austin though only retaliated by grabbing Jack's neck in turn, his other hand continuing to hold Jack up as kept taking his huge cock.

"I don't even fucking care if you get me pregnant, just keep fucking my pussy with that big cock!"

The hand that previously been trying to grab his throat then shifted and grabbed at his hair. The Helldiver groaned in pain as she pulled hard. Give how much he had, she was in no shortage of something to grab and pull on. Letting his pain, aggression and horniness drive him, Austin shifted them until he banged Jack against the wall hard, the force of his thrusts increasing.

 "Ow! Watch where you're going, fucker!" Jack moaned, her hand abandoning his hair and grabbing onto a nearby ceiling arch as she gyrated her hips in time with his.

"Shut up!" Austin growled, suddenly biting on one of Jack's nipples which made her cry out both pain and ecstasy.

 This continued for a quite a while. Austin was beginning to wonder now how the engineers up top weren't aware of this, let alone the entire ship. Especially given all the noise they were making. Jack then suddenly let go the railings and dug her nails into Austin's back. Her mouth once again latched onto his in a aggressive kiss. She even went so far as ti bite his bottom lip as she even scratched her nails along his back.

 Austin let Jack drop down slightly so that she was now lying down on the crate she'd been bent over earlier. He then grabbed her hips and hoisted them up until her pussy was right up close to his face, his cock finally sliding out of her pussy.

Before Jack could object at all, the Helldiver dove in and began to lick her pussy.

"Oh fuck yeah!" she moaned in pleasure.

Austin plunged his tongue as deep as he could, savoring Jack's taste and spurred on by the encouraging moans. In her her aroused and pleasured state, Jack reached a hand up to fondle her breast while the other hand reached behind her and took AUstin's cock into her hand which was still wet from her pussy. Grasping it firmly she simply gave it long hard strokes to both keep it hard and give Austin some pleasure of his own. Her juices helped the strokes greatly, even the mere sound of her hand stroking the wet shaft turned her on.

Jack hadn't wanted to admit it at first, but she could no longer deny that this was the best fuck she'd had in a long time. Stamina, strength, aggressiveness, a skilled tongue and huge cock... Austin had it all. In the end, the licks to her pussy drover her over the edge. The pleasure made her forget to say anything and she simply moaned loudly as she came in Austin mouth.

"OH FUCK!"

 Jack's sweet nectar squirted into Austin's mouth, his tongue eagerly licking it up and his nose inhaling her scent of sweat and sex. The convict panted as Austin finally set her hips gently down as she panted. He couldn't help but stare at her decently sized breasts as they rose up and down with each breath, the glisten of her skin from her sweat only adding to the arousing sight. In fact he was unable to stop himself stroking his cock at the sight. Despite her exhaustion, jack took notice of this. Pushing herself off the crate she then pushed Austin against the wall and once again got down on her knees, her hands playing with her tits as she once again saw the huge cock up close. 

"Stroke it, you fucker! I want you to cum all over my face!" she order arousingly.

 Austin didn't need to be told twice. He increased the speed of his strokes, Jack's still lingering wetness helping. He noticed Jack lick her lips and pant arousingly as she waited for the inevitable, still playing with her nipples. This only helped spur him on.

 "Oh shit!"

Jack quickly grabbed his cock on her hand and aimed it directly at her face, continuing the strokes for him as he let loose. Several long strands of cum shot out of his cock, each one coating Jack's face making her moan in pleasure at the feel of the warm sticky substance touching her skin. Three whole spurts landed on her face and head before she opened her mouth wide. The continued strokes made Austin shoot another two loads right into her waiting mouth whcihs he licked up eaglery. The final cumshot missed and landed on one of her breasts.

Both Jack and AUstin couldn't' help but smile at each other as they came down from the euphoria. Jack licked what cum she could off of her face, the rest to scooped into her mouth with her finger, her strokes oN Austins' cock now gentle and slower as the huge shaft slowly began to soften.

Tiredness and lack of energy finally caught up with them and they both let themselves fall onto the floor, panting.

"Not bad, Shepard. Best sex I've had." Jack panted, gently rubbing her pussy.

"Should've fucked you the moment you came aboard." Austin smiled confidently. 

"Wanna fuck me again? Because I sure as hell ain't done with you." Jack asked, suddenly grabbing his cock and stroking it back to full hardness.

Austin whoever turned the tables as he suddenly flipped them over so that the was now on top, pinning Jack to the floor with his hand around her neck.

"Good. Because I'm not done with you yet either, bitch. I still need to claim your asshole too."

* * *

 Austin's mind then suddenly snapped back to reality.

The entire thing had been his imagination, considering what might have happened if he'd said yes to Jack's question. Tempting... but he was better than that. And besides, he had Liara and there was no way in hell he was going to cheat on her.

Austins lowly turned to face the convict.

"I'm not looking for that. Jack. If I appear to have given you that impression, then I'm sorry. You're an okay person, but I don't feel that way about you." he said sternly, making sure he made his point well and truly clear.

"Should hope so. You're Asari certainly wouldn't approve if I suddenly threw you down on this table and peeled you out of your uniform." Jack teased.

"Try that about 4 years ago and I wouldn't object. But unfortunately for you I'm in a committed relationship. And I wouldn't' recommend you try either. I may be a polite person, but I'm not afraid to hit a girl if I have to." Austin said confidently.

"Just maybe, you're starting to become okay, Shepard." Jack smiled, impressed b Austin's willingness to stand up to her.

"Jack?!" came a voice.

"Kelly?"

Sure enough, the Yeoman herself had stepped down into the hold.

"Oh, hello, Major. I hadn't realised you were down here. I came to talk with Jack." said Kelly, a bit surprised to find Austin down here.

"It's fine. I was just leaving anyway." "Actually, before I do, I have one more thing to ask, Jack." said Austin as he turned to leave.

"Fine. Shoot." said Jack.

"I've picked up a lot of resources. Can you use them to help against the Collectors?" Austin asked.

"Since you mention it, yeah. I ran across the schematics for making L5X implants, still got 'em in my head. Wanna know what I need? Not usually my thing, but I've learned how to get things done on my own." said Jack.

Austin examined the schematics and approved for them to be built. He decided that he'd talked long enough and left Kelly and Jack to their talks. He couldn't help but notice the way the two women were looking at each other as they started talking. Could it be? Maybe. Jack and Kelly. It was certainly an interesting combination.

Anyway, Austin went back to his quarters He felt it best to just have a little nap before Zorya. If he was lucky, Liara would be there and he could hopefully get a cuddle with her on the bed. As the elevator went up, it suddenly stopped and opened again. Speak of the devil, Liara then stepped in.

"Hello, Austin. Heading up to our quarters?" she asked as she planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Just fancied a nap really." said Austin.

"That's funny. I figured you'd be more interested in a shower with me." said Liara seductively.

"I didn't realise that was on the list." Austin smiled.

"Oh, it definitely is." Liara whispered into his ear as her hand reached down and touched his member through his trousers. He could already feel himself stiffening a bit.

Austin simply smiled and pressed the button as he and Liara began kissing one another very passionately. This would be just what he needed.

* * *

**I can't help it. What can I say? I like writing the sex scenes. Not only are they good fun, but they help Helldiver Saga go over the top from time to time. That is my goal in writing these stories after all. Over the top action, over the top violence, over the top Sex. Why not go all the way. This fic is rated MA after all. (Here's hoping that this site eventually grows a brain again and either gives us that rating, or stops deleting fics.)**

**See you next time! Hope you enjoyed this.**


	21. Chapter 21, Kasumi's Recovery & the Price of Revenge

**Hello there everyone!**

**Now please pay attention, because this is very important.**

**I have 2 announcement to make.**

**1\. This chapter will be the last sex one for a long while. Don't worry though! This isn't the last sex chapter in the story, rest assured that I still have at least 3 more planned for the future. It's just that they'll be a very long break before the next one. Recently, a few fans and I have agreed that I should give the sex a break for a while. I agree that I could've maybe left bigger gaps, and it now seems like a smut story. So starting from now, that will be rectified. I hopefully won't have to worry about this in ME3 though, as many of my ideas for that one are action oriented. There'll still be some good sex scenes though.**

**2\. I recently got the game Skyrim, and chances are I'm going to be playing it a lot. Plus I feel I just need a little break. Don't get worried about a long wait though. I'm sure you won't have to wait too long before I return. Plus, who knows... I may even have more ideas.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter, and also hope you enjoy the two sex scenes. We wont' be seeing more like this for a while.**

**I'd also like to thank Mastermind4892 for giving me the idea for a second sex scene at the end. I hope you like it, my friend. Should say though, it might be a bit short. Admitably, I'm not the best lesbian writer. If I can think of some better ideas, I will try and add them in an update.**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**Kasumi's Recovery & the Price of Revenge**

The elevator opened and Kasumi proceeded slowly in. True to what Austin had said, the brief fresh air of Ilium had at least cleared her head up a bit. She was feeling a bit better now and she harboured no hate towards Shepard for destroying the graybox. Besides, she also understood that it wouldn't be healthy for her to be constantly dwelling on the past. Keiji was gone, and there was no chance of bringing him back. She would have to move on.

Ultimately, the thief had got bored of the wait and had decided to do something she'd been doing a few nights. She often made a habit of sneaking around the ship with her cloak engaged. In particularly, she'd often snuck into Shepard's quarters and had watched him and Liara having sex. She couldn't help it really. Plus, she was quite impressed when she had seen the sort of things the two lovers got up too and had also been impressed with how much of a man Shepard was.

She was pretty sure that was what they'd be doing right now. Austin and Liara often had sex on a regular basis. Not that it was any surprise considering how much they loved each other.

As the invisible thief looked around though, she found the Major's quarters empty. Strange, she was sure she'd seen the two disappear into the elevator and press the button for this room.

Kasumi stepped in a bit more before she then heard something. It sounded like running water and then she saw a bit of steam coming from the shower room.

 _"Ah. That explains it."_ she thought.

Kasumi walked a bit closer and poked around the corner. Sure enough, both Austin and Liara where inside the shower. Both of them where completely naked and kissing and hugging as the hot water cascaded down them. It seemed strange that they'd left the door open, but the thief wasn't complaining.

Austin and Liara both moaned into their kiss as they moved their hands up and down each other's bodies. Austin was paying particular attention to Liara's behind as he massaged it. Liara meanwhile had one hand on Austin's cheek while her other was resting on his chest.

Kasumi simply watched the two for a while. Then she suddenly felt something she hadn't felt for long time since Keiji had been killed, Arousal. She could already feel her nether regions motioning a bit as her gaze travelled lower down Austin's body and spotted his flaccid member. Even though he wasn't erect yet, his length and size was still very impressive. The thief felt herself starting to get wet as she imagined this cock being stroked by Liara or being pushed into her Azure.

Liara's moans started to get a bit more intense as one of Austin's hands now moved from her ass, up her body and starred fondling one of her breasts. The Asari returned the favour as her hand travelled slowly down her lover's body and grasped his cock.

 _"Oh my god!"_ Kasumi moaned in her head as she watched Austin's cock slowly start to grow longer and thicker as Liara slowly but firmly started stroking it.

"Mmmmm, that feels good, Liara." Austin moaned.

"I aim to please, my love." Liara smiled as her strokes started to get faster.

Austin grunted as he felt his member start to reach its absolute limit. Mind you, it usually did around Liara.

Kasumi meanwhile couldn't take it anymore as Austin's cock reached a near 10 inches. Making sure that she was still cloaked, she gently undid her trousers and reached her hand inside to touch her aching pussy. She found her panties already soaked and her pussy dripping. She gently started rubbing herself as she watched Liara continue stroking Austin's fully erect member. She was starting to see a bit of pre cum oozing out of the tip. Both lovers still continued to moan into their kiss as Liara gave Austin her best hand job so far. It always felt nice when she touched his dick. Such soft hands and the Asari knew how to get her strokes just right.

A long moment passed as Kasumi kept touching herself to the sight of two touching one another in the shower. If only she could join she wasn't willing to risk it. It would simply be better to look, but not touch.

Liara had now pulled Austin's foreskin back and was giving the mushroom head some extra attention. Her wet, soft hands made Austin grit his teeth and he felt himself getting close.

"Oh god! I can't hold on long." he groaned.

Liara and Austin broke apart for air from their kiss and Liara got down on her knees, still keeping her bond mate's cock in her hand.

"Sure you can take it all?" Austin asked slyly.

"Well, let's find out." Liara grinned just before she took gave the cock a small lick causing Austin to moan in pleasure and fall back slightly against the shower wall.

Kasumi was now increasing the strokes of her masturbation as she watched Liara deep throat the Helldiver's cock. This was so much better than extranet videos. She could practically hear the wet slurps and sucks as Liara took Austin's member right to the back of her throat. Her hands played with his balls as she waited until Austin would let loose. She was taking it slow, but that just made it all the more better for Austin. Slow and tender was often how Liara did it since she loved Austin so much. Austin stroked Liara's head crest tenderly as Liara's tongue licked his shafts head gently. It just felt better somehow. In a way it also made Austin all the more desperate for her to go faster. He was in no rush though. This was just as much fun and pleasure for him as this fun and pleasure for his true love.

Liara looked up at Austin and stared lovingly into his eyes as she continued sucking on his dick. She then gently moved her hands around Austin's hips and grabbed onto his buttocks as she continued pushing his cock all the way into her mouth.

"Oh Liara!" Austin sighed lovingly as he moved his hands gently over her arms and finally around her head. Liara showed her appreciation by briefly letting his cock slip out of her mouth and she gave a slow and lovingly long lick with her tongue.

The Asari slowly started speeding up and she was now starting to bob up and down on her favourite cock at a very fast rate. Austin only lasted a few minutes under Liara's new aggressiveness to his cock before his ejaculation signalled its arrival.

"I'm gonna cum!"

Liara took Austin all the way in and settled there. Austin's cock jerked and he shot a large load into the Asari's waiting mouth. The Asari hummed and moaned onto his cock as she swallowed it.

Kasumi was a bit disappointed that Liara had made him come this soon. She'd hope to enjoy this show a bit longer. Luckily, it didn't look like either one of them was finished yet. Austin immediately hauled Liara back up to eye level. Liara pushed Austin against the shower wall and once again started kissing him. The Helldiver grabbed both of Liara's upper legs and hoisted her up off her feet as she wrapped both her arms around his neck. Austin was now holding the Asari up by her buttocks as his left hand lined his member up with her Azure. Liara's kisses moved down her boyfriend's neck as he plunger her onto his cock, causing her to moan into her kisses.

Kasumi nearly let out a loud moan as she watched Austin dick disappear into Liara's folds. She'd watched plenty of humans fucking Asari on the extranet, but seeing it in person was something else. It was enough to make her arousal climb even more and the speed of her hand rubbing her pussy only increased.

Austin was now maintaining a steady pace as he thrust in and out of Liara's azure, the water still running down both their bodies. Liara wrapped both her legs around Austin's midsection so that he now no longer needed to hold her up with his hands.

"Oh Goddess! This is so good!" Liara moaned as Austin once again squeezed one of her tits in his now free hand. His other hand kept holding her ass, and even at one point gave it a playfully hard slap. He began thrusting his hips even faster now and he could hear his hips slapping against Liara's as his dick constantly moved in and out of her pussy.

Kasumi had now added a finger to her masturbation and was now slowly moving it in and out. So good! She was finding more difficult to keep quiet though. She had to take extremely deep breaths in order to breathe properly. Fortunately, the sound of the water running front the shower muffled out the noise of her heavy panting. The Thief finally decided to enjoy this fully and she undid the upper piece of her outfit as well allowing her fairly sized breasts to finally be exposed to the warm steamy air. Kasumi accidentally let out a sigh of pleasure as her nipples became even more aroused at the feel of the cool air. Once again though, Austin and Liara didn't hear her as they kept fucking one another.

Liara was now clawing at Austin's back and her kisses had now turned into sensitive bites. Then all of a sudden, Austin could feel the Asari's pussy tighten and clamp down on his wet cock.

"OH GODDESS, YES! I'M CUMMING!" Liara screamed as her eyes smashed shit and her legs squeezed tight around Austin's waist.

Austin slowly eased his member out of Liara and allowed his lover to get her breath back. She still had plenty left in her.

"What now then?" she asked as the water still cascaded down her body. Her beautiful blue skin always looked brilliant when it was wet.

"Get on your knees again. I'd like you to use your breasts." said Austin.

 _"Oh my god! She's going to tittyfuck him!"_ Kasumi moaned in her head.

The thief watched excitedly as Liara got down on her knees and pressed both her tits together around Austin's shaft.

Austin immediately started thrusting his hips back and forth as Liara started moving up and down on his cock. The wet sound it made, as well as Liara's sexy moans where really arousing. Kasumi watched hungrily. She really envied Liara now for having such a fine man all to herself. If Austin wasn't already taken she would definitely have made a move on him and would've claimed that massive cock for herself. But no, Liara was the lucky girl. Despite her envy though, Kasumi was very happy for them both. She could tell how much Austin loved Liara and how much she loved him in return. They made a perfect couple.

"Come on, Austin! Faster! Fuck these tits! You know you want to!" Liara moaned encouragingly to spur Austin on. Naturally of course, of it worked and Austin's thrusting increased. At the same time, Liara squeezed her large breasts together a bit more. The wet feel of Austin's cock only intensified now and she could already feel him swelling. He was close to cumming again.

"Oh god!" Austin groaned as he felt the cum slowly creep up his cock.

Liara quickly got the message and increased her pumping speed even more. That was all it took to throw Austin over the edge and he let loose. Liara smiled as Austin shot several short jets over her face. They quickly washed off again because of the shower.

Kasumi really couldn't believe this was happening. Austin had now come twice and had made Liara come as well. Still though it looked as though the couple could do this all night. Mind you, she was still a bit far off from her own release as well.

"What now?" Austin asked, his cock still rock hard and ready for another round.

Liara bent over slowly and spread both her ass cheeks. Austin immediately got the message.

"Your wish is my command, sweetheart. But be careful what you wish for." he smiled slyly as he placed both his hands on Liara's gorgeous bottom and lined his hard member up with her entrance.

"Actually, before we do, I've always wanted to have a union in the shower." said Liara as she turned around and held her bond mates face in her hands.

 _"I must be dreaming!"_ Kasumi thought in shock. Was this really what they were like when both aroused?

The thief checked to make sure her cloak was still working. Not only did she want to watch this until the end, but she just wanted to be sure that the couple were' doing this on purpose because they somehow knew she was there. From the looks of things though, they still oblivious to the master thief standing right outside their shower and masturbating to the sight of them having sex.

"I love you." Austin sighed as he wrapped his arms around Liara's waist as they Asari closed her eyes in preparation for the union.

"I love you too. Embrace Eternity!" she said.

Liara opened her eyes and they went completely black. Austin felt Liara's presence enter his mind. Sure nought, two became one.

Kasumi nearly fainted as she watched some sort of pink mist envelop them both. In all her life, even in extranet videos, she'd never seen this happen before. Most likely because the Asari in the vids only did melds. Union was obviously much different.

Liara then once again returned to facing away from Austin and offered him her butt. Austin lined himself up once again and slowly eased in.

Liara gritted her teeth and gave several sharp intakes of breath as she felt her lovers raging dick slowly enter her.

Kasumi slowed down her strokes and now simply moved her finger out very slowly so that she now matched the sped of Austin. She then added a second finger into play and began to try and envision herself in Liara's place. This only turned her on more as she imagined herself completely naked, bent over in the same way and with Austin's wonderfully massive cock slowly moving in and out of her rear. She gave one of her breasts a squeeze and pinched the nipple as she did so.

Rather surprisingly, Austin did the same to Liara and started fondling the exact same breast in his hand as he kept slowly pushing in. He was still only half way inside Liara at the moment and he was already meeting some resistance. He and Liara had done anal that much, so she was rather tight. The Helldiver could also tell that Liara was finding this a bit painful.

He gently brought Liara's face up to his and kissed her to try and sooth her a bit. It worked and Liara started to moan in pleasure again as she felt Austin's balls start to touch her Azure. He was almost there.

Austin groaned as he gave one more push and he was finally all in.

"You're... unbelievably tight." Austin groaned. His dick felt almost as though it was being chocked. It was a good feeling though for Liara to be squeezing his shaft so tightly.

Very slowly, he started to pull out and then thrust back in again.

"Oh, oh Goddess, you're fucking that ass so good. Harder, you're gonna make me cum fucking that ass." Liara moaned as Austin started to move in and out very gently. All the while, Austin and Liara's tongues kept intertwining with one another as they kissed.

Kasumi slowly started increasing the speed of her fingers moving in and out of her dripping pussy. She would definitely need to change her panties after this and would probably need to get her outfit cleaned as well.

Austin now started to slowly speed up. He then decided to get a bit rougher. He slowly pulled right out of Liara's rear and then thrust back in very fast. Liara nearly screamed at this sudden aggressiveness, but she liked it.

"Oh Austin! So rough!" she moaned.

Austin's other hand moved down to Liara's Azure and started rubbing it. Liara started moaning even more and this only spurred Austin on as he thrust into Liara's ass even faster. The Asari was in so much pleasure that she moved both her hands to her ass cheeks and started massaging them. Normally she'd be happy with Austin doing it, but both his hands where occupied with her boob and her pussy. Austin kept grunting each time he thrust into Liara's tight hole. Unlike his girlfriend, he wasn't very vocal. He mostly just grunted and groaned where as she moaned and screamed. Liara didn't seem to mind though. Besides, there were plenty of times when Austin had moaned. Whenever he usually came for example and also when Liara stroked his cock.

Kasumi was now fingering herself really fast as she watched Austin fuck Liara in the ass.

 _"This is incredible! I wish that was me!"_ the thief moaned in her head.

Liara had her eyes closed and was moaning with each thrust and wet slap sound as Austin's balls slapped against her pussy each time he pushed his shaft all the way in. She was enjoying it so much though, that she afield to notice her hands glowing slightly with biotics while they were fondling her ass. Austin however, did notice and only too late noticed what was happening. He tried to speak, but found himself speechless as Liara's ass cheeks started to slowly enlarge.

 _"Holy..."_ Kasumi nearly shouted as she watched Liara's ass enlarge. How was the Asari doing that? She knew a fair bit about Asari, but she had never seen this happen before. Even when watching Austin and Liara as she was doing now, she didn't recall Liara's body turning into that of Matriarchs.

"Liara?" Austin said as he stopped thrusting.

"Austin! Why'd you stop?" Liara moaned desperately.

"Liara seriously, stop!" Austin said urgently as he pulled Liara's hand away from her ass. The Asari's eyes flung open and she looked at Austin. Only now did she notice what she'd done. She was lost for words as she looked at her large behind.

"Oops." she said innocently in the same way a small child would say when their parent's had bought them doing something they shouldn't. "Guess I got carried away. No worries. I can fix this." she said as she went to touch her butt once again, but Austin didn't let go.

"No. Leave it actually. You look much hotter that way. Besides, I don't mind a little junk in the trunk, if you know what I mean." he said slyly.

"Kinky!" Liara chuckled as Austin gave her new ass a playful slap. "Although let's complete the image." she said as her hands reached up to her breasts.

"Don't overdo it, love." Austin advised.

"Relax, Austin. It's not like we've never done this before." Liara smiled as her tits started to slowly grow. "Bigger and bigger." she whispered in a very sexy way as her nipples went even more erect and both her boobs started to become even larger than her head.

Kasumi nearly had her orgasm already as she watched the Asari's breasts grow also to the size of a Matriarch's. She was really impressed with herself for managing not to cum from this erotic sight.

Liara let her hands fall away from her now massive tits and once again bent down to let Austin fuck her in the ass. Austin however gave the impression that he was pulling out.

"I am starting to feel tired. But I can manage two more cumshots I think. Besides, we'll be at Zorya soon."

Liara simply smiled.

"Two's not bad. As long as you fill both my holes with your cum, I'll be happy." she said.

"Now that, I can do." Austin smiled as he once again took Liara's massive breasts in each hand and started thrusting again. Liara moaned her approval as she also moved her behind in synch with Austin's hard thrusting.

Kasumi could feel herself getting close as she now added a third finger. This would have to end soon. She'd rather be out of here before the two lovers finally finished their sexy shower and went to get a towel.

Austin was now thrusting into Liara so fast that Liara was nearly screaming.

"Oh Goddess!" she moaned.

"I'm cumming, Liara!" Austin moaned as Liara felt his cock twitch inside her and she then felt his cum painting her insides.

Kasumi watched keenly as Austin slowly slid out of Liara's ass, a small bit of cum dripping out. She was so very close to her release now. If she could time this just right, she'd be able to cum with them as well as they did their last fuck in the shower.

Liara turned around and pushed Austin into one of the shower's corners. He sat down on the floor, still stroking his shaft gently so that it remained erect in all its glory.

"Now for the finishing touch since this'll be the last one." Liara smiled as she kneeled down in front of Austin and took his dick in both her hands.

 _"No! This can't be happening! She's not seriously going to..."_ Kasumi thought.

Sure enough though, and much to her sheer delight, Liara's hands once again glowed with biopics and Austin's already large cock started to grow even larger, thicker and longer. A bit of pre cum leaked out of the tip as the organ nearly swelled. Liara finally stopped once she had reached her favourite cock size of 16 inches.

The two lovers smiled at each and Liara slowly got on top. Austin lined his now massive shaft up with Liara's azure and slowly eased in as the Asari gently sat down on him.

Kasumi let out a very quiet but deep breath of pleasure as she watched the almost inhuman penis disappear into Liara's folds. Liara had her back to the shower entrance, so the Thief had a perfect view of Liara's bioticly enlarged ass and her bond mates cock disappearing inside her beautiful Asari pussy.

Both Austin and Liara moaned in union with one another as Austin kept thrusting up into Liara and the Asari moved her hips in time with his thrusts. All the while, the hot water from the shower kept making their skin glisten.

"Keep fucking my pussy! I'm close to my own release! Liara moaned as she kissed her bond mate who was giving her so much pleasure.

"Me too. My cock's always rather sensitive when you make it bigger." Austin moaned.

 _"I'm close too!"_ Kasumi thought in her head, imagining that she was part of this.

"Cum with me!" Liara moaned.

Austin made one final thrust and his cock completely erupted inside Liara.

"Aaaaaaaahhhh!" All three of them moaned. Both Austin and Liara's moans where loud enough that they didn't hear Kasumi moan with them as she too had her orgasm.

Some of Austin's cum leaked out Liara's azure and slowly ricked down Austin's cock. Kasumi licked her lips as she watched it.

"Oh, I enjoyed that immensely." Austin panted as he stroked Liara's beautiful face lovingly. The two lovers remained where they were in the corner of the shower and simply hugged one another affectionately, the water starting to get a bit cold as the warm water ran out.

 _"So did I, Shep. If only you knew."_ Kasumi thought as she quietly zipped her uniform back up and left the room. This was something she would not easily forget.

* * *

Griffin was Austin's first choice for accompanying him and Zaeed on this mission due to his Blue Suns expertise. Finally, he felt it best to top it off with X-5. The Hellhound dropship gently touched down and the doors opened. In the distance, they could see the damaged tower of the refinery.

"Tapping into Blue Suns communications. Stay tight, and look out for ambushes." Said Zaeed as he started hacking into the communications channel.

Everyone unholstered their weapons and slowly started proceeding through the jungle.

 _"Squad Bravo, a shuttle landed near your location. Check it out"_ said a voice over the radio.

"Here we go. Keep close." said Zaeed.

The jungle was actually rather pretty considering the circumstances they were here under. There was the gentle sound of birds chirping and Austin did notice a few Pyjaks running around and some even climbing the trees.

Eventually, the group came across an unwelcome sight. Several dead bodies of some of the refinery workers.

"Shot in the back and left to rot. That's definitely Vido's style." Zaeed commented. "Let's push ahead."

 _"Command to bravo. Take position. Likely these people are not runaways."_ came Vido's voice.

There was a small lookout post ahead, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle. After dealing with them, they came across a bridge.

 _"This is Commander Santiago. If any of you retreat while the intruders are still alive, I'll kill you myself."_ said Vido's voice. Zaeed motioned for Austin hold the bridge for a minute. The Helldiver once again pressed the panel and the bridge stopped.

"Vido. Sounds like he hasn't changed." said Zaeed.

"I get the feeling you have a past with this Vido." said Austin.

"I knew he was a sadistic bastard back when we started the Blue Suns. The Suns only got meaner after he staged his little coup twenty years ago. So, yeah. We have a past." said Zaeed.

"Twenty years is a long time to hold a Grudge." said Austin.

"A grudge?! Vido turned my own men against me! He paid six of them to restrain me while he put a gun to my head and pulled the trigger! For twenty years, I've seen that bastard every time I closed my eyes. Every time I sighted down on a target. Every time I heard a gunshot. Don't you call that a goddamn "grudge!" Zaeed shouted angrily.

"You survived a gunshot to the head?" Austin asked.

"Where the hell do you think I go this from?" Zaeed asked as he indicated to his blind eye and the massive scar on the right side of his face. "Besides, you pretty much survived your ship getting disintegrated. The stubborn enough person can survive just about anything. Rage is a hell of an anaesthetic."

"Hang on, if you founded the Blue Suns, how come I've never heard of you? I should know after all, I was a Sun once before I became a Helldiver." Griffin asked.

"Because it's not common knowledge. Vido wiped me out of the records. He ran the books, I led the men. Worked real well for a while. Then Vido decided to start hiring Batarians. Cheaper labour, he said. Goddamn terrorist, I said." Zaeed explained.

"Well, at least we agree on that." said Griffin.

"We'd better get moving." said Austin as he once again captivated the bridge and it reached the other side.

"Yes sir." Griffin nodded.

 _"They're into southern access. All squads mass at the gatehouse! Now!"_ said Vido.

"They know we're here."

"Bring it on, you son of a bitch!" said Zaeed as the group crossed the bridge.

 _"Squads Charlie, Delta. Mass at the gatehouse."_ they overheard one of the teams say.

It was once again a long walk through the jungle. The occasional views and the scenery where very nice though. Austin occasionally risked a few glances to take pictures using his helmet's visor. Maybe one day he would put these in a diary. Pretty soon, they came to the entrance. It was a heavily fortified door.

"Griffin, what do you think?" Austin asked.

The demolition expert looked at the door for a few seconds as he examined it. He then walked up to the door and put his helmet right up close to it. Griffin then banged gently on it a few times as he tested how thick and strong it was.

"Hmm, strong. Very strong. Blue Suns certainly like to keep people out their bases." Griffin commented as he stood back.

"Can you blow through it?" Austin asked.

"Perhaps." the demolition expert said as he examined how much explosives he had. He looked at the small device in his hand, then back at the door.

"I could blast that open if I had about 200 of these. Problem is, I've only got about... 10." he said. "Plus, 5 of my own. Still not strong enough to blow something this thick."

"Allow me, sir." said X-5.

The robot walked up to the door and started to force it open. He grunted rather loudly as the door slowly started to creak. The metal creaked very loudly and was eventually forced right open. If Austin didn't know that it was reinforced metal, he'd have easily thought it was just foil the way that X-5 ripped it apart. It did scare him sometimes that X-5 was this strong. He was glad that the robot was on their side. God knows how much death and destruction he'd cause in the hands of the wrong people.

Finally, X-5 had managed to force the door open enough that they could all fit through.

"I'm glad you're on our side." said Griffin.

"Yeah, yeah. Machines are strong, we get it." said Zaeed sarcastically.

 Zaeed immediately went through the gap first. The rest quickly followed.

They found themselves in a massive loading bay of sorts. On a high balcony where several Blue Suns troopers. Among them was one without a helmet. Austin noticed Griffin's look of hatred at them as the demolition expert was reminded of his wrong doings during his brief time with them.

"Zaeed Massani. You finally tracked me down." said the leader. There was no doubting that this was the man Zaeed wanted dead. Vido Santiago.

"Vido." said Zaeed cold as he reached for his rifle. He hesitated though when he saw how many men Vido had with him.

"Don't be stupid, Zaeed. I have a whole company of bloodthirsty bastards behind me, ready to kill or be killed on my command." said Vido. Zaeed looked around as he scanned the area. "Actually, take your shot. Give my men a reason to put you down like the mad dog you are. Again." said Vido challengingly.

Austin looked at Zaeed. The bounty hunter stood still for a moment before he then unholstered his Avenger rifle and started running as he fired it in Vido's direction. A shot impacted on one of the gas tanks that Vido was standing behind, but none of them hit Vido himself.

"What was that? Gone near-sighted, old friend?" said Vido.

"Burn, you son of a bitch." said Zaeed as he fired again.

Only now did Vido notice that Zaeed had shot the tank intentionally. The gas ignited and the whole of the tanks on top of the balcony exploded, taking out some of the mercs and wounding Vido.

"You just signed your death warrant, Massani!" he said as he limped off.

The rest of the soldiers covered Vido's retreat and fired on the group. Zaeed remained where he was near a gas valve while the other took cover behind a nearby bit of the hanger. As they did, Austin heard a constant clanging sound. He looked to the source of the noise to see Zaeed was smashing the valve constantly with the butt of his rifle.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he said.

Zaeed continued smashing until a sudden explosion blew the valve and the rest of the tanks on top of the balcony completely exploded and fire was everywhere. The door at the far end also blew and was now open.

"Opening the gate." Zaeed replied.

"Next time you're gonna blow something up; I wanna know about it first." Said Griffin.

"Vido was confident, had a lot of men. Now he's lost the home field advantage. If we keep up the pressure,

"We don't sacrifice lives for the sake of the mission, Zaeed! There's always a better way." said Austin angrily.

"Like what?! Wandering out in the jungle for hours, looking for another way in?" Zaeed retorted frustratingly. "You want to waste time out here, go ahead. I'm going to..."

But before he could finish, he was interrupted as Austin punched him very hard in the face. The bounty stepped back, clutching his jaw. He even spat a bit of blood out of his mouth.

"What the hell! You trying to break my bloody jaw?!"

"You're endangering lives – and the mission – for your own selfish revenge." said Austin.

"You really wanna do this, Shepard?!" said Zaeed.

"I ought to knock you the hell out. But thanks to you, we have a burning refinery to save." said Austin angrily.

"Let these people burn! Vido dies, whatever the cost!" Zaeed shouted.

Austin simply ignored Zaeed and the group set off. The whole refinery was starting to catch fire. It wasn't looking good. As they neared a door, Austin noticed a worker stood up on another balcony. He quickly noticed the two Helldivers.

"Help! We're trapped! We can't get to the gas valves to shut them off! The whole place is gonna blow!" the worker yelled as the refinery was slowly starting to fall apart.

"No time. Vido's probably halfway to the shuttle docks by now." said Zaeed. There was no hint of regret or emotion in his voice. He sounded casual in saying it.

"You're willing to watch these people die?!" Austin asked, appalled at Zaeed's lack of compassion for these workers.

"Damn right I am. We stop to help these people, and Vido gets away. And if he gets away, I'm blaming you." said Zaeed.

Austin took a long moment to think this through. He needed Zaeed to be focused for this mission, and if Vido got away, he wouldn't be. But Austin's Helldiver training had taught him to always value innocent lives over the mission. Even if it meant jeopardising the mission altogether, they would save innocents if in danger. That was an unbreakable rule that all Helldivers where trained with. Eventually, he saw no other alternative.

"We're here to free these people. We're going in." he said forcefully.

He immediately hopped over the edge. Griffin and X-5 didn't need to be told twice and they followed. Griffin in particular agreed with Austin's choice. He knew the code just as well as the Major did.

Zaeed lingered for a bit before finally giving in. There was no way he could convince any of the others and he would be killed if he tried to go after Vido by himself.

"I knew this was a mistake. If we're gonna do this, we'd better get to it." He said as he quickly joined the group again.

Austin looked up at the worker who was still up on the balcony.

"Just hold on! We're coming for you!" he called.

The worker nodded in acknowledgement and ran back inside; most likely to reassure the other workers that help was coming.

* * *

The whole place was in flames. Austin and Griffin where very glad that their armour was flame proof. X-5 didn't have any bother either since his armour was made from reinforced Helldiver metal, so the flames wouldn't trouble him either. Zaeed on the other hand wasn't as protected and was sticking close to X-5 and making sure he kept away from the flames.

"Upstairs! The extinguishing system is upstairs!" they heard a voice yell.

There where explosion all over the place as the gas valves kept blowing. The whole refinery looked as though it was going to collapse any minute. They didn't have much time.

Soon though, they found all the workers. They were trapped inside a separate room. They looked safe, but the main doors were locked. They couldn't escape.

One of the workers saw that they were here to help and called to them from behind the glass.

"The doors won't open until the fire's out!" she said.

Austin and Griffin nodded in acknowledgement and quickly followed the gas pipes to where the valves where.

The valve was extremely stiff and it took both the enhanced strength of Austin and Griffin to move it.

"I hate fire. Plays hell with my explosives. If those flames touch me, I'm gonna kill Zaeed for starting this." Griffin groaned as the valve slowly turned.

Even Austin agreed with Griffin. Even for the two Helldivers, it was like trying to move a normal rusty valve without a suit.

Eventually, the valve finally stopped and the gas was redirected. Some of the fires went out and they now had access to the fire extinguisher systems. Austin wasted no time in bringing them online. Almost immediately, the extinguishers came into life and the rest of the fires slowly started to die.

From on top of the balcony they were on, Austin looked down to see the workers hurrying out of the doors. They were saved.

"Let's go. We may still be able to catch Vido if we hurry." Said Zaeed.

Austin simply sighed and motioned for the others to follow.

* * *

They quickly entered another large room. This one was filled with a lot of pipes. The whole place was alive with explosions and two massive fuel tanks that where currently bolted to the ceiling where in danger of becoming dislodged.

 _"I'll bring this place down around you!"_ came Vido's voice.

Immediately, several Blue Suns mercs flooded into the room and opened fire on the group, who quickly went into cover.

_"You should've died when I shot you the first time!"_

Griffin was being especially careful that he stayed away front the Pyro's. If the flames touched his explosives, he'd most likely bring the entire refinery down on their heads. The structure was already weak enough. Explosives were the last thing they needed.

The demolition expert stayed back and provided mostly cover fire with his mini gun while the others did the fighting. X-5 and Austin in particular where firing at mercs.

Zaeed however was desperate to get rid of all the mercs and he was firing at them like mad. There where shots all over the place.

_"I don't care who you brought with you! I'll kill you all! You think I won't roast my own men just to kill you?"_

Austin rolled into cover as a Blue Suns heavy fired several rockets at him. Luckily, they hit a nearby pipe and it caused another explosion which then travelled along the pipe and eventually exploded right next to where the heavy was.

X-5 and Zaeed meanwhile where taking it in turns to take cover and reload while firing at a heavy mech that had just been activated. On the plus side though, it di now allow access to the other side of the room where the exit was, and where Vido had fled.

_"Say your goddamn prayers, Massani!"_

The mech continued firing, forcing both Zaeed and X-5 into cover. Griffin was able to distract it a bit, but not much. Austin was forced to fall back to Griffin's position when more mercs came in. One thing that Helldivers hated bout the Blue Suns was that they were so well equipped, even when compared to other merc groups like the Eclipse or Blood Pack. Even more surpassing was the Eclipse and Blood Pack had been around for decades, whereas the Blue Suns where only 20 years old yet they had some of the best weapons to date. They always had been a thorn in the Helldivers side. Still, having Zaeed along did count for something, especially since he had most likely trained some of these soldiers.

As the fight continued, one of the large fuel tanks not he ceiling started to creak loudly.

"That fuel tank's coming loose. Shoot it! Bring it down on top of 'em!" Zaeed yelled.

Austin and Griffin quickly took notice and fired on the tank as it started leaking fuel.

"That's it! Shoot it down on top of them!"

A few more shots, and the tank fell. The other mercs only noticed too late as the tank fell on them. There was a massive fiery explosion and all the mercs where obliterated. Even the heavy mech was caught in the blast.

Zaeed seemed to waste no time and ran for the door. The others quickly followed.

* * *

They were too late to see a Blue Suns gunship slowly lifting off.

 _"Not this time, Zaeed, you son of a bitch. See you in another twenty years."_ Came Vido's voice.

The Gunship then activated it's Thrusters and flew away. Austin was blown back by the blast slightly. Zaeed on the other hand continued running and then fired like mad on the leaving gunship. Even Griffin fired a few shots. They hit, but didn't really do any damage. Eventually, the gunship disappeared from site and Zaeed ran out of ammo.

He fumbled with the gun before unloading the heat sink and then suddenly pointed it at Austin.

"You just cost me twenty years of my life!" he yelled.

Austin immediately reacted and pointed his own rifle at Zaeed and also activated his plasma cannon.

Zaeed failed to notice however that the heat sink had ended up on some leaked fuel. It ignited and the fire quickly travelled to the main tank and it exploded. Austin quickly dived away, but Zaeed wasn't as quick and a large beam landed on his legs.

"Son of a bitch! Argh!" he groaned as he tried to push the beam off, but it was too heavy for him to lift.

"Zaeed! You alright?" Austin asked worriedly. True he didn't care that much, but he still wished to look after everyone.

"The hell do you care? I'm fine. Now come on. Get me out of this shithole." Zaeed groaned.

"I'm not sure I want or even need a man like you on my ship." Said Austin coldly as he knelt down in front of Zaeed.

"If you didn't need me, The Arkanes wouldn't have paid my fee. I'll do what I was paid to do. Nothing more, nothing less. Now stop screwing around! I can't move this goddamn beam by myself!" said Zaeed.

"You're too crazy, Zaeed. You have no place among my crew." Said Austin, now willing to leave the bounty hunter to burn in the fire he started.

"You can't be serious. You need me." Zaeed laughed, thinking Austin was joking.

"Do I look I'm joking?" Austin asked seriously.

Zaeed's laugh faded when he heard the seriousness in Austin's voice. The Helldiver wasn't joking.

"Major, maybe there's a better way." Said Griffin as Austin radioed for the Hellhound.

Austin and Griffin turned their backs to Zaeed as they talked among themselves. Zaeed knew they were talking about him. He just hoped that Griffin would convince Austin to help him somehow.

After severally long, painful moments, Austin and Griffin turned back to him.

"You put your own goals ahead of the mission. That's not how this works. Even the Sun's don't work that way. An you think you're better than them?" Said Griffin.

"I've survived watching my own back. No time to worry about anyone else." Said Zaeed.

He was interrupted though, when he saw Austin point a pistol right at his head. He immediately froze, fearing that Austin would pull the trigger the same way that Vido had twenty years ago.

"You're part of a team now, Zaeed. A Helldiver team. There's no way we can do this unless we all work together. So you're either with us, or against us. Which is it gonna be?" Austin asked as he flipped the gun in his hand and now had the handle facing Zaeed.

"You… you have a point." Zaeed admitted.

Austin took this as the right sign and used his enhanced strength to lift the beam of Zaeed's legs. Griffin then helped the bounty hunter up to his feet.

"I'm not done with Vido, but I can put it behind me long enough to get your mission done." Said Zaeed. "Let's get the hell out of here."

* * *

Zaeed remained quiet as the Hellhound touched down. As they entered it, Griffin handed him something.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Consider it a little reward for coming to your senses." Griffin smiled under his helmet as he sat down.

Zaeed examined the object in his hand more closely and saw what it was.

"A detonator? What for?" he asked.

"For the explosives I placed on Vido's gunship." Griffin replied.

"What?!"

"Those rounds I fired weren't bullets. They were these." Said Griffin as he took a very small object from his belt.

On closer inspection, both Austin and Zaeed saw that what they had first assumed to be a minigun round was actually a very small explosive device.

"I've been working on them for a few days. Thought I might test them out. They look small, but don't let that fool you. They're extremely powerful. Just one of these babies is enough to blow a hole in a solid rock wall." He said.

"You mean… those things are attached to Vido's ship, and one press of this and…"

"Yep! Goodbye, Blue Suns leader." Griffin smiled.

The demolition expert then activated his omni tool and it displayed a visual feed from a small camera that had also been attached to Vido's gunship.

"Fry you son of a bitch!" said Zaeed coldly as he pressed the button.

The visual feed showed the very brief shot of the beginning of an explosion, and then the feed went static. Also, they all heard the very faint sound of an explosion in the distance.

"I… thanks. I appreciate what you did." Said Zaeed eventually said as he handed the device back to Griffin and sat down. He looked out at the view of Zorya with a smile on his face as the doors closed and the Hellhound lifted off.

"Good thinking, Alex." Said Austin as he sat down next to Griffin.

"I'm sure you would've thought of something too. Just doing my part." Said Griffin modestly.

"Nevertheless, being able to think up a good compromise like that is highly valued in the Helldivers. You did well, soldier. I'm proud of you." Austin smiled under his helmet.

Griffin was rather lost for words for a moment. To have approval like that from a Major, especially one like Austin was definitely something.

"Thank you, Shepard. I've always been honoured to be part of this." Griffin finally said.

"Alaara made the right choice when she picked you. I'm horned to call you an Alpha." Said Austin as he held out his fist. Griffin smiled and banged his own fist with Austin's. Friends with the great Major Shepard. How'd he get so lucky?

"Let's get back to the ship. I need a victory drink." Said Zaeed as he sat back in his seat, grinning with pride.

* * *

Sarah couldn't sleep. She was just having one of those nights where she couldn't get to sleep and was restless. She sighed as she stared at the ceiling of the quarters had brother had given her.

It was very kind of Austin to give her quarters of her own rather than her being forced to share room with someone. Because she was bisexual, she did sometimes get embarrassed when she saw other women naked. Normally, she'd simply tell them not to undress in her presence, but she couldn't really do that without anyone knowing about her sexuality. It wasn't that she hated being bisexual, she loved it in fact. It allowed her to like both sexes and she'd certainly had a few one night stands in her life with both men and women. The N7 marine had a feeling though that she was more into women than men. There was something about the female body that she found so much more beautiful and sexy. So much so that she'd made sure to be careful around the more sexy members of this team.

Samara for example always distracted her with her cleavage. Then again, she had a feeling that she wasn't the only one. She was pretty sure that her brother and the rest of the crew did risk glances.

Kasumi was also someone that Sarah was careful around. Especially since that time on Bekenstein when she had seen Kasumi watching her strip out of her dress. Kasumi had also been very happy to see Sarah when she came to chat to check up on her. The Thief was doing much better now and appeared to have moved on now.

Though Sarah was sad that Kasumi had lost all that was left of her lover, she knew Austin had made the right decision by destroying the graybox. Not only where the risks too great if that information had been leaked to the wrong people, but also, it wasn't healthy for Kasumi to keep dwelling on the past. Keiji was gone and wouldn't be brought back. Kasumi needed to move on. Keiji himself would also want Kasumi to continue being happy.

Sarah once again tried to let her mind rest, but she just couldn't drift off.

 _Maybe I need a shower."_ she thought.

The N7 marine threw her bed covers aside and got out of bed. She took a dark red dressing gown from a nearby hook on her door. She put it on and made sure that it covered her completely so that no one saw her red underwear.

Sarah's favourite colour was red. Mind you, it wasn't like that was a complete surprise. There was plenty of hard evidence to indicate to her favourite colour.

The N7 logo and stripes where red, she had red hair, red underwear and even a red dressing gown that she was wearing right now. In fact it was actually this like of red that had eventually made her dye her hair red.

Sarah made her way through the quiet deserted corridors to the showers. She didn't expect anyone would be out here. The only people that would still be up at this hour was Joker, who was flying the ship, Dr Chakwas, who had a habit of working late, Samara, who never slept since her meditations rested her body, and Kasumi who Sarah knew often liked to sneak around the ship cloaked. While she was pleased at the thief taking some enjoyment out of her life again, she wasn't sure if she was comfortable with Kasumi watching her and the crew secretly all the time. Having EDI watch everyone was hard enough.

Finally, she made it to the showers. She undid her dressing gown and stripped out of her red bra and panties. She then walked up to one of the showers heads and activated it. Although Austin and Liara had been showering earlier, that still hadn't drained the warm water. In fact, the showers here and the shower and Austin's quarters both had separate water containers for the water.

Sarah sighed as she felt the warm water wet her body. As she started using some soap on herself though, she heard a faint breathing sound and then she saw something through the steam of the warm water. She hid her nervousness and pretended to chuckle slightly.

"Kasumi, I know you're there. Enough with the hiding." she said.

"How'd you know?" Kasumi asked in surprise as she uncloaked. Sure enough, the thief had followed Sarah in.

"I saw your silhouette through the steam." Sarah said. "Why are you spying on me?"

"I'm not. I actually wanted a shower too. I just didn't want to make you nervous if I showered with you. I know that you're uncomfortable around other naked girls." said Kasumi gently.

"Hey, don't let my feelings stop you. If you want a shower as well, there's nobody stopping you." said Sarah.

"You're too kind, Shepard." Kasumi smiled as she reached for the zipper on her outfit.

"It's Sarah. Please, if you keep calling me Shepard, you'll confuse me and my brother." said Sarah.

"Very true." Kasumi nodded as she peeled her outfit from her body.

Sarah was actually surprised when she saw Kasumi lower her hood. The thief had dark hair and sure nought had a very Japanese look to her. As was visible, she also had a purple line on her bottom lip. Sarah did her best to ignore Kasumi's body. As expected, the thief had a very fit and athletic form. Thin, but with a good amount of muscle. Annoyingly for Sarah, Kasumi's breasts where also fairly large. Mind you, this shouldn't be unexpected. Her outfit did little to hide that. Sarah also noticed that Kasumi's pussy was cleanly shaven. That just made it all the more harder.

Kasumi smiled as she saw Sarah's embarrassment. Everything was going as planned. Ever since she'd watched Austin fuck Liara earlier today, she had an uncontrollable craving to have sex. Particularly with a girl. Though Kasumi had been with Keiji and she often preferred men, she'd found that she also seemed to like women as well. Also, she knew that a well-built body ran in Shepard's family. Austin was well endowed with is impressive cock and Sarah had a body that could very easily rival Liara's and Miranda's, even without modifications or enlargement in Liara's case.

The thief walked over to the next shower right next to Sarah's and switched it on.

"How are you doing lately?" Sarah asked as she resumed using the soap on her body and did her best to not stare at Kasumi's breasts or her butt.

"Good, thank you. I've been thinking a lot lately. I understand why you're brother made me do it. I'll miss Keiji, but at the same time it's better this way. I can't keep dwelling not he past like this. I have to move on. And anyway, I think I've already got my eye on someone." said Kasumi.

"Oh really? Who?" Sarah asked.

"That Jacob, he seems pretty tense. I wonder if he likes Japanese girls with a pension for kleptomania." Kasumi replied.

"Maybe. You talked to him yet?" Sarah asked.

"No, but I may try. He certainly seems sociable." said Kasumi. The thief then looked at Sarah for a minute. "What about you? Is there someone?" she asked.

"I've had a few partners, but they were all just sex. I haven't really had anyone I've really loved like you have." Sarah sighed.

"Well, your brother's got Liara. Maybe you'll eventually find someone as well." said Kasumi.

"Why do you ask?" said Sarah.

"Because I wanted to know if this would be wrong." said Kasumi.

To Sarah's utter surprise, Kasumi then pounced on her and literally locked her lips onto Sarah's. Sarah was completely taken aback by this and was in enough shock that she didn't try to push Kasumi off. Where had this come from?

Kasumi finally broke for air and simply held Sarah tightly as she looked at the N7 marine's shocked expression, a look of lust in her eyes.

"Where did that come from?" Sarah asked when she finally found her voice. "You just said you fancy Jacob."

"That wasn't a lie. I actually am interested in Jacob. But I've been ever so horny today and I just have to relive it. I was hoping you could help. I know that you're bisexual and I'll admit I have found you rather hot while we've been working together." said Kasumi.

"Stress relief? That's all you want? Well, since you put it that way, I suppose it's okay." said Sarah once she realised Kasumi's intentions. The thief didn't feel anything for her; she just wanted to work off some of her recent stress. "You're absolutely sure though that this is just sex? I like you as a friend, in fact you're a great girl to hang out with from time to time, but I'm not attracted to you in that sort of way." she asked.

"Don't worry, Sarah. I promise, this is just sex. I like you as a friend too, but only as a friend. Nothing more." Said Kasumi as she went to kiss Sarah again, but the N7 marine stopped her.

"Not here. Too public. Someone might walk in." she said.

"Well then, let's take this somewhere more private." Said Kasumi very seductively.

"Get your clothes then. Let's just hope no one catches us in the hallway." Said Sarah.

The two quickly scooped up their clothes and underwear and made their way out of the shower and to Sarah's quarters. Once they were inside, Sarah instantly threw Kasumi down onto the bed. The thief was rather surprised by the N7 marine's forwardness, but she didn't complain as Sarah slowly walked towards her, swinging her hips seductively.

"You have one hell a sexy body. Does it run in the family?" Kasumi asked as she fingered herself, watching Sarah slowly crawl towards her as she reached the side of the bed.

"I would assume so. I wouldn't know. Unlike you, I don't sneak into my brother's quarters and try to see him nude with Liara." Said Sarah.

Kasumi seemed rather surprised by this. How had Sarah known?

"Before you ask, I've known for a while. I saw you disappear into the elevator earlier today and I also caught you watching me undress before we entered Hock's mansion." Said Sarah as she slowly crawled up Kasumi's body, planting kisses on her as she did.

"You haven't told him, have you?" Kasumi asked worriedly.

"I was going too, but I'll make you a deal. I do this for you and don't tell my brother, and in return, you promise not to do it again." Said Sarah as she now reached Kasumi's face and now lay on top of the nude thief.

"Alright, I promise. Now please fuck me." Said Kasumi.

"This'll be fun." Sarah smiled naughtily as she and Kasumi started kissing.

Kasumi was actually surprised that Sarah was such a good kisser. Despite that this was just sex; it seemed that the N7 marine certainly wanted to enjoy this.

Sarah then shifted her attention to Kasumi's breasts and started kissing and sucking her nipples.

"By the way, you have a very sexy body too. Not surprising considering all the things you've stolen in your life." The N7 marine smiled as her hand squeezed Kasumi's breasts while she kissed the other.

"You sound just like Keiji." Kasumi smiled as she stroked Sarah's red hair. "Tell me, is this actually red? Neither your mother or brother have red hair."

"I dyed many years ago when I was still only 13 years ago. I always wanted red hair, so my parents eventually let me. I've kept it like that ever since." Sarah replied as she now let one of her hands leave Kasumi's breasts and slowly move down to her pussy.

"Looks good on you." Kasumi smiled.

"Thank you. For that, I'll give you a little present." Sarah smiled seductively as she put both her fingers in her mouth, wetted them and then slowly inserted them into Kasumi's folds.

The thief moaned in pleasure as she felt Sarah's fingers enter her pussy.

"Oh, you're pussy is so tight." Sarah moaned as she then moved up Kasumi slightly so that her face was once again in line with the thief's. To her surprise, Kasumi then did the same to her and pushed her own finger inside her.

"I haven't had sex for a long time. Not since Keiji's passing." Kasumi moaned as she pleasured Sarah.

"I feel sorry for you. I'll make sure your desires are awakened then." Sarah said naughtily as she started panting faster as the thief's fingers started to increase their speed in and out of her wet pussy.

"You certainly can be very sexy when you wan to be." Kasumi smiled; pleased at the pleasure she was giving Sarah.

"Tell me something you want us to do." said Sarah.

Kasumi considered this for a moment. Why not? Besides, she hadn't felt the touch of a good woman in a very long time.

"Well, to start I want you to play with my tits. Suck on them." said Kasumi.

Sarah's mouth once again travelled to Kasumi's breasts and once again started sucking on her erect nipples.

"Mmmmm. You're tongues so good!" Kasumi moaned. "I can only imagine how much pleasuring it's done."

"You've no idea. Especially how I've even used this tongue on mission to get information." Sarah teased as she gently bit on Kasumi's breasts. The Thief only moaned even more.

"Enough talk. Just suck my tits!" Kasumi begged.

Sarah did so and now focused her full attention on Kasumi's bust. Sarah certainly was enjoying the feel of the them. So large, firm and soft. Keiji must've had a lot of fun with these. As the N7 marine continued her ministrations, one of her hands moved along Kasumi's smooth legs and held one of the up. Kasumi smiled as Sarah stroked her thigh.

"Can I lick you now? Believe it or not, I haven't actually been with a woman for a while either." Sarah asked.

Kasumi simply nodded.

Sarah smiled back and moved down to Kasumi's pussy, planting kisses all over her body as she went and only pausing briefly to lick around Kasumi's tummy button and kiss it. Sarah finally reached Kasumi's nether regions which were dripping in anticipation.

"I'll bet I can make you scream my name. Every woman I've taken to bed has screamed my name at least once when I've pleasured them with my tongue." Sarah said challengingly.

"Bring it on then! I like a challenge." Kasumi said as she once again stoked Sarah's red hair before then pushing her face down against her pussy. "Do well enough, and I'll give you a special reward."

Sarah smiled and quickly went to work. Kasumi nearly screamed almost immediately as Sarah's tongue teased her womanhood agonizingly slowly.

"Oh God Sarah, your tongue feels so good running over my pussy..." Kasumi moaned as she pulled Sarah's head deeper into her crotch. Sarah paused and looked up, smiling devilishly at the thief's shear amount of pleasure. She also smiled smugly at the fact that she'd made Kasumi scream her name already.

"Honey, I've barely just started fucking you, believe me..." she purred before she went back down to lick Kasumi's sensitive clit, but faster this time.

Kasumi then did something rather unexpected. She lifted both her legs up and then bent them inwards until they where right up to her face. Sarah was surprised by this, but pleased when she saw that she had even better access to her pussy now.

"How'd you do that?" Sarah asked. "Believe it or not, this is actually turning me on even more."

"You'll find i'm very flexible." Kasumi similed as Sarah resumed her assault on her pussy.

It was at that moment that Kasumi felt her mind flash back to many of times when she'd bedded women. She hadn't had sex since Keiji died 5 years and she hadn't had sex with a women for 9 years.

The thief smiled as she remembered many of the things she'd down to those women. Felt their breasts, performed stripteases for them, eaten their pussies, ravaged them with dildos. She even remembered one time that she'd put on a strap on with two cocks and had fucked a women both in both her holes.

Another memory then flooded back to her of something she hadn't done that would work well for this. It was something she'd done to Keiji many times, and something that always gave her other partners pleasure. She felt that would make a much better "special reward" than what she'd originally had planned.

Uunnghh! Oh yes Sarah, faster! Oh fuck... grab my tits now!" she moaned.

Sarah was pleasantly surprised and even more aroused to discover that Kasumi was vocally expressive. She preferred her women to be vocally expressive as they were the ones who typically gave their partners and themselves the most pleasure. She gladly obliged Kasumi's plead, squeezing both of her breasts while she gradually sped up the teasing play of her tongue on her clit, and the lips of Kasumi's vagina soon parted slightly, as if daring the N7 marine to take it to the next level.

Sarah accepted and inserted two fingers into Kasumi. The thief practically screamed and nearly came right there.

"Oh fuck!"

"Wow. It really has been a while for you, hasn't it? You are quite tight." said Sarah as she did her best to move faster. It was difficult to the tightness of the thief's pussy. Not that the N7 marine minded though.

"Stop! Stop! I don't' want to cum just yet." said Kasumi as she urged Sarah to stop. "Give me a minute, and then we'll continue. No way can I last very long."

Sarah understood and simply splayed herself on top of the Kasumi as the thief got her breath back. During that time, Sarah flipped her over and started giving her a back massage.

"You tease!" the thief sighed in pleasure. "I'm beginning to think this is dream."

A naughty smile crossed Sarah's face and she suddenly gave Kasumi's ass a firm but playful slap. It was rather a spank, but it was still hard enough to leave a red mark.

"Ow! I don't mind a good spanking, but what was that for?" said Kasumi as Sarah moved down to her ass and started playing with her cheeks.

"Still think it's a dream now?" Sarah replied.

Kasumi simply smiled and laughed slightly. Shepard certainly did have a cheeky sister.

'No. I guess not." she said.

"Ready for another round yet? Sarah asked as she continued fondling Kasumi's firm bottom, enjoying the feel of her soft skin and smooth flesh.

"I think so." the thief replied. "Tell me, have you ever scissored a girl?"

"No actually. I haven't, never crossed my mind. Why do you ask?" Sarah replied.

"I've never tried it either. Want to be my first?" said Kasumi.

"Sure. I've seen it in plenty of extranet videos and it always makes me horny." Sarah smiled as she got off Kasumi and they got into the right position. They could both feel the heat and arousal from each other's pussy lips. Kasumi held her breath as she watched Sarah's azure slit move toward her own crevice. Then their loins pressed together, their nether lips meeting in an intimate kiss.

"Ahhh…that…that's…" Sarah gasped as the thief began churning against her. "Damn…that's good! That's really good!"

The two of them thrashed against each other, their bodies undulating together ever faster. Kasumi grasped Sarah's long, smooth leg, hugging it against her bosom as she gulped down air.

"Hell yes!" Kasumi pitched her hips, slamming their sensitive flesh together. Their intimate folds worked against each other. "Come on, Shepard! Aaargh! That's right! Oh YEAH!"

Sarah had never experienced something this good before and was gritting her teeth in pleasure. Each thrust made a wet slapping noise as both their wet pussies slapped against one another. Just the sound alone was enough to turn anyone on. Sarah fondled one of her breasts as she continued thrusting her hips against Kasumi's. They were getting used to this very quickly.

"You got any toys?" Kasumi finally asked after several long minutes of scissoring.

"I'm... afraid... not. I'm... not... that... kind of... girl." Sarah panted with each thrust and slap of their pussies.

"Oh well." Kasumi sighed, but her expression then turned back to a naughty smile. "Would you like your special reward now?"

"Hmmm, now you've got me interested. Alright, go ahead." Sarah replied.

Kasumi wrapped her arms around Sarah and to her surprise, the their then started stimulating loads of her nerves at once. Sarah moaned in surprise and shear pleasure as Kasumi made her feel like she was being pleasured by more than one person. Where had Kasumi learned to do this?

"Oh my god, Kasumi. How are yo doing this. Feels like there's several of you!" the N7 marine moaned.

Kasumi smiled as she kissed and stimulated all over Sarah's feet, knees, elbows, hands, fingers and mouth. Her breasts and pussy received the most attention, which Sarah loved. She always loved to have those parts of her body touched like this.

Several minutes passed as Kasumi gave Sarah more pleasure than she'd ever felt before. By the time Kasumi had finished, Sarah felt more relaxed than use had done a long time.

"In all my life, i've never experienced anything that relaxing." Sarah panted.

"I haven't added the finishing touch yet." Kasumi smiled.

Before Sarah could say anything, Kasumi disappeared between the N7 marine's legs and started repeating what Sarah ahd down to her earlier.

"Ah! Yeah! That's the spot!" Sarah moaned soothingly. The thief certainly was skilled with her tongue.

Kasumi then literally latched onto Sarah and started sucking on her clit, causing the N7 marien to nearly cum instantly.

"Nnnnnggghh! Oh yeah!" she moaned through gritted teeth.

This only spurred Kasumi on further and it didn't take long for the thief to bring Sarah to an orgasm as she added two fingers to her pussy and one to her ass.

The N7 marine took at least a minute to catch her breath back before Kasumi finally spoke up. They where both close to exhausted and they knew that they probably only had one last round left in them.

"Let's finish with a 69 then." she said.

Sarah smiled and turned around as she got on top of Kasumi. The thief gave the N7 marine a playful spank as her pussy came close to her face.

"Like what you see, Kasumi?" Sarah asked teasingly.

"You bet I do. You've got such a hot body." Said Kasumi as she moved her hands up Sarah's legs and began touching her ass.

Sarah stuck out her tongue and began licking at Kasumi's folds. The thief moaned in pleasure as she did the same to Sarah. Sarah almost immediately began to moan into Kasumi's pussy as she licked it.

"God, you're so good!" she said as she briefly passed her assault on Kasumi's pussy and then resumed.

"You... too!" Kasumi moaned back. Sarah could already tell she was nearing her climax. Then again, she was too.

"You're gonna make me cum, Kasumi!" she said.

"Cum with me!" Kasumi moaned.

Both women practically screamed in pleasure as they finally came, both their faces became covered with the others cum.

Sarah rolled off Kasumi and simply lay there catching her breath. Kasumi did the same, but she did still stroke Sarah's legs as she did so.

"I can't tell you how much I needed that." Kasumi panted.

"You weren't so bad yourself." Sarah's miles as she moved up to Kasumi's face and started licking her own cum off the thief's face. Kasumi quickly caught on and did the same as she tasted herself on Sarah. That turned her on immensely. Both partners where pleasantly surprised by how good they tasted as they scooped t

"Do you wanna sleep here tonight? I don't mind." Sarah asked as she slowly got up and fished around for her red underwear.

"Thanks. You're such a good friend." Kasumi smiled as she pulled the covers over them.

"You're a good friend too, Kasumi. I hope you find some happiness with Jacob." Sarah smiled as she got comfortable.

"Me too. I have noticed him watching me from time to time." said Kasumi as she wrapped her arms around the N7 marine and rested her head on her bust.

"Goodnight, Kasumi. Sleep well." Sarah smiled as she stroked Kasumi's hair.

"You too, Sarah. Your brother's lucky to have a sister like you." Kasumi said before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**There you have it! Would like to clarify that Kasumi will indeed be paired with Jacob by the end. Jacob's relationship with Dr. Cole in ME3 won't happen.**

**Sarah will also be paired with someone in ME3, but i'm not gonna say who. Don't want to spoil the surprise, do we?**

**Anyway, when I eventually coem back from my adventures in Skyrim, the next chapter will be the Collector Ship mission and then after that, probably the Firewalker DLC. (Only the very first mission though in which you aquire the Hammerhead. The others aren't really necessary, though I might include the Prothean orb. Liara especially would love to study that.)**

**Farewell for now! But fear not, I will return!**


	22. Chapter 22, Belly of the Beast

**Hello everyone! Nice to be back!**

**I must say, a lot certainly has happened during my break from writing. In particular, my time away has led me to discover something remarkable. It would seem that someone has made a mod for Mass Effect 3 which makes a few more changes tot he ending. Best of all, it reunites Shepard with the crew and removes the star child. I can honestly say that I wept with joy when i saw my Shepard being reunited with Liara and I can at last enjoy Mass Effect again rather than thinking that it's worth it. I'd certainly recommend you should try it out, it's called Mass Effect Happy Ending mod.**

**That's also put a bit of fire back into me to put more effort into this, therefore I am looking to see if I can make anymore interesting changes to ME2.**

**One another thing I'd like to say in this, my good friend LegionnaryPrime has asked me to spread word about a little challenge he has. Here's what he said:**

* * *

**I have a challenge that I am also going to post as a fan fic as well for every Mass Effect fan out there. My challenge is that Shepard is an alien instead of a Human. How he/she is an alien instead of Human is up to you as long as it make sense. You can mess with the timeline and fiddle with canon if you want. Ex. First Contact War never happened, Turians made peace and Shepard is a Turian instead of Human. A Female Turian Shepard can be with Garrus.**

**You can use Fan Fics or Fan Art for this challenge as long as it fits the criteria above and Shepard has a descent background that fits it.**

**Good luck!**

**I am attempting at my second attempt for an Asari Shepard for this challenge.**

**And you can use the canon ending of ME3 or make up your own ending. However you write the games story is up to you as long as it fits the challenge.**

* * *

**There we go. Now, on with the chapter. Given the recent release of the new multiplayer DLC which features the Collectors, I've also come up with another original chapter idea which will be based off of that. The Collector Captains will also be in this chapter, and I've even based a particular fight scene off of one from Red Vs Blue. Once again, liek to thank LegionaryPrime for suggesting that series to me. I t will prove helpful in the future.**

* * *

**Chapter 22**

**Belly of the Beast**

Once again, things had been rather quiet. No Collector attacks, no calls from the Arkane Council, nothing. Austin was beginning to wonder now if they'd ever get another shot at the Collectors. Had they given up? No, impossible. It was just a matter of time.

The Helldiver major was currently looking through the galaxy map randomly trying to think of somewhere the Normandy could stop off and resupply for a while. Before Austin could contemplate further though, Kelly spoke up.

"Major, the Arkane Council wish to speak to you in the debriefing room." she said.

"Good. About time we got a new update on the situation." said the Helldiver as he made his way to the debriefing room.

As usual, the table in the middle of the room slid down into the floor and the familiar holographic grid enveloped him. The Arkane Council once again stood before him.

"Major, it would seem we've had a stroke of luck. We've intercepted a distress call from a Turian patrol. It seems they stumbled on to a Collector ship beyond the Korlus system." said Spartan.

"The Turians unfortunately were wiped out, but not before they crippled the Collector vessel. We need you and your squad to board that ship and get some hard data on the Collectors. Find us a way to get to their home world." said Tarnack.

"If they had a patrol out there, why aren't the Turians sending a recon team in?" Austin asked.

"They already have. But you're close enough that you can be in and out before they learn the truth. They might not take kindly to us investigating first. It's better that we handle this under the radar." Spartan replied.

"Got it. Send us the coordinates, and we'll take care of It." said Austin.

"Already sent. Once you're aboard the ship, establish an uplink with EDI. She'll mine their data for information regarding the Omega 4 relay." said Tarnack.

"Good luck, Major." said Spartan as the holograms vanished and everything returned to normal again.

 _"Coordinates punched in. Let's go find us a Collector ship."_ came Joker's voice.

* * *

Sure enough, the massive Collector was there, floating in space. There were also the few bits of debris of a few Turian ships. No chance of their being survivors.

"We have a visual on the Collector ship, Major." said Joker.

"Very low emission. Passive infrared temperatures suggest most systems are offline. Thrusters are cold." said EDI as her avatar mimicked a person using their omni tool. She often seemed to use these sorts of gestures to indicate that she was doing something.

"That thing's massive. How the hell did the Turians take it out?" said Joker, mesmerized by the Collector ship's massive size.

"Ladar scans do not detect any hull breaches on the side facing us. I detect no mass effect field distortions. It appears the drive core is offline." said EDI.

"Rendezvous in 30 seconds, Major. Good luck." said Joker.

Austin gave Joker a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he made for the cargo bay.

* * *

Austin felt it best to stick with a fairly small squad for this mission, rather than taking everyone. He ultimately ended up going with Liara, Tali and Griffin. Overall, that had the best outcomes, heavy and explosives, biotics and tech. they'd hopefully be able to handle anything they encountered.

"Can we expect hostiles?" Griffin asked as he strapped several of his explosives onto his belt.

"Most likely. This time though, we have the element of surprise. If we're lucky, we might not even have to fire a single shot." said Austin.

The Hellhound touched down gently and everyone disembarked. Naturally, the Collectors didn't breathe oxygen, so their ships weren't equipped with life support systems. Not that this troubled the team though. Helldiver suits where designed to survive and function in vacuums and Tali's enviro suit also kept her safe from that sort of thing.

"I've never seen a ship design like this before." said Griffin.

"Looks like a giant insect hive." said Tali.

 _"Penetrating scans have detected an access node to uplink with Collector databanks."_ came EDI's voice. _"Shepard. I have compared the ship's EM signature to known Collector profiles. It is the vessel you encountered on Horizon."_

"Hmm, guess the defence towers softened it for the Turians." said Austin.

"That probably means the missing colonists are aboard. If they're still alive." said Liara.

The ship was indeed very haunting as the slowly made their way through. It was very dark as well. So dark in fact they'd resorted to using their flashlight attachments. A few minutes later, they saw some of pods they'd seen on Horizon. One in particular looked as though it had recently been opened.

"These are the same containers the Collectors used on Horizon. Only these are empty." said Griffin.

"Must've been horrible. Completely at the mercy of the Collectors and trapped inside a confined space unable to move." said Liara.

"I can definitely sympathise. I know that experience all too well." said Austin, remembering how he'd been trapped inside his suit for two years while he'd been dead.

"I'm sorry, my love. I didn't mean to bring back bad memories." Liara apologised.

"It's alright. I wasn't even conscious for most of that time." said Austin as he put his arm reassuringly on Liara's shoulder. The Asari's mood brightened a bit.

As they proceed further through the ship, things got all the more creepy. To make matters worse, they were starting to see the faintest signs that there'd been a struggle and they could even see dry patches of blood on the floor. Then they found the source. Lying in front of them was a large pile of dead bodies, some were mostly intact, others where in very bad shape. Some even had their limbs missing.

"Goddess, it can't be." said Liara.

"Why would they just leave a pile of bodies lying around?" Tali asked.

"Test subjects. What else?" Griffin answered.

"There are worse things than death, like being a test subject for these creatures." said Austin, trying to make light of the situation.

"I appreciate you trying to make us all feel better, Austin. But I'm afraid it won't really help." said Liara.

"This galaxy never gets any brighter, does it?" said Griffin.

After several more long minutes, they finally found something different and of interest. There was some sort of terminal on a nearby wall. Next to it was an open pod of some kind which contained a dead Collector.

"A Collector? These things experiment on one of their own?" said Griffin, rather surprised that the Collectors would do that sort of thing.

"EDI, I'm uploading the data from this terminal. See if you can figure out what they were up to." said Austin.

 _"Data received. Analysing."_ said EDI. There was short pause while she analysed the data before she spoke again. _"The Collectors were running baseline genetic comparisons between their species and humanity."_

"Are they looking for similarities?" Austin asked as EDI's avatar appeared out of his omni tool.

 _"I have no hypothesis on their motivations. All I have are the preliminary results. They reveal something remarkable. A quad-strand genetic structure, identical to traces collected from ancient ruins. Only one race is known to have this structure: the Protheans."_ said the AI.

Austin stood back slightly in surprise as EDI said this.

"What?! That can't be true. Send the data to Liara." he said.

EDI did so and Liara analysed the data herself. Within seconds, she shared Austin's shock.

"Goddess! She's right. The Collectors are Protheans." she said.

"My god. So the Protheans didn't vanish. They're just working for the Reapers now." said Austin as he looked at the Collector inside the pod. He could barely begin to imagine what sort of pain and torture it had gone through to end up as it was.

"No. These are no longer Protheans, Austin. Their genes show distinct signs of genetic rewrite. The Reapers have repurposed them, changed them to suit their needs." said Liara.

"You think somebody would've picked up on this." said Austin. He was especially surprised that Liara hadn't known about this. She was an expert on the Protheans after all.

"No one has ever had the opportunity to study a Collector in this much detail. Even I would never have even thought of this. All my knowledge of them, and still I always manage to find something new about them, from you." Liara said, smiling at her bond mate under her helmet as she said the last bit.

"There's a time and a place, you two." said Griffin.

"So the Reapers didn't wipe out the Protheans. They turned them into monsters and enslaved them. Still, they're working for our enemy now. And we have to stop them." said Austin.

"We are not going to suffer the same fate as the Protheans. We'll kill every single one of them before they get the chance!" said Griffin, confidently as he banged his fist into his other palm.

"That's the spirit. Now let's find what we need before more Collectors come to salvage this vessel. Move out." said Austin.

The team made their way further through the ship. As they did, more and more pods began to come into their field of view.

"Holy… more pods." said Griffin.

"There must be hundreds of them. How many do you think are full?" Tali asked.

"Too many." said Austin coldly as he scanned one of them with his helmet's computer.

"Anything?" Liara asked.

"No. There are no signs of life at all. The victims inside must've died when the ship lost power." said Austin regrettably.

Joker then spoke over the radio.

 _"Major. You gotta hear this. On a hunch, I asked EDI to run an analysis on this ship."_ he said.

 _"I compared the EM profile against data recorded by the original Normandy two years again and also with the data recorded by your suit. They are an exact match."_ said EDI.

Everyone froze when they heard this. The exact same ship?

"The same ship dogging me for two years? This is way beyond coincidence. I've got a bad feeling about this." said Austin.

 _"Something doesn't add up, Major. Watch your back."_ said Joker.

The team took it even more slowly and made sure they scanned the hallways properly with their lights. The darkness was the perfect weapon for the Collectors to attack them. A bright light then illuminated the area and they found themselves inside a massive room. It was clearly the inner cylinder of the ship, and it was simply massive. This alone could hose an entire army of Collectors, or hundreds of thousands of innocent colonists.

"Keehlah!" said Tali.

"They could take every human in the Terminus systems alone and they'd still have pods left over." said Griffin, almost speechless at the sight.

"They're going to attack earth!" said Liara.

"Not on my watch!" said Austin.

"There. A control panel. That' should be what we're looking for." said Tali as she indicated to a nearby control panel.

"Strange though. No bodies, Collector or Turian. Careful, Shepard. Something's horribly wrong here." said Griffin suspiciously as he took safety off on his minigun. A voice in his head kept telling the demolition expert that something wasn't right about this.

"EDI? I'm setting up bridge between you and the Collector ship. See if you can get anything useful from the data banks." said Austin as he activated his omni tool and set up the connection.

 _"Data-mine in progress, Shepard."_ said EDI.

Joker watched as three holographic screens appeared in front of him. They went through millions of lines of code within seconds. Suddenly, they all stopped and flashed some sort of warning sign, as though a virus had just infected them.

Joker then heard an unwelcome sound. He looked at where EDI's avatar should have been only to find it replaced by the Collector general. It was only present for a moment before it quickly vanished and everything went dark.

"Uh… that can't be good."

The ground seemed to shake slightly as several panels seemed to pop up inside some kind of cylinders on the walls.

"What just happened? Give a status report, now!" Austin said into his comlink.

 _"Major power surge. Everything went dark, but we're back up now."_ Joker replied.

 _"I managed to divert the majority of the overload to non-critical systems. Shepard, it was not a malfunction…"_ said EDI.

"THIS WAS A TRAP!" Harbinger's voice boomed throughout the ship.

The whole floor then shook again and seemed to start rotating and slowly lifted into the air. The control panel had very cleverly been on the platform, right where they were vulnerable.

"We need a little help here, EDI…" said Austin as he and the other struggled to keep their balance.

 _"I am having trouble maintaining connection. There's someone else in the system."_ said EDI.

The platform then stopped spinning abruptly causing everyone to briefly lose their balance and stumble. Liara even fell right over and Austin fell on top of her. Despite the circumstances though, the couple didn't seem to mind.

"Why do you always seem to end up on top?" Liara smiled under her helmet.

"A lower centre of gravity?" Austin smiled as he helped his lover up.

EDI then once again appeared out of the control panel. She knelt down and activated omni tool, as though she was trying to send a message while under enemy fire.

 _"Connection re-established. I need to finish the download before I can override any systems."_ she said.

"Then you better get a done fast, EDI. We've got company." said Austin as he noticed two more platforms heading their way; both of them had Collectors on them.

Everyone immediately unholstered their weapons again and went into cover. The two platforms quickly joined onto their one and the Collectors started firing.

"Go get 'em Chiktikka! Good girl!" said Tali as she activated her omni tool and a pink combat drone appeared.

Despite this occupying some of the Collectors, most of them still concentrated on where the team was.

"Well, out of the frying pan and into the fire." Austin sighed.

"Think I could take about 50 of them. How about you?" Griffin asked.

"How about you save your jokes until we get out of this, Griffin?" Austin replied.

"No argument there, sir." Said Griffin.

The demolition expert hoped out of cover and began firing. His gun ripped through several of the Collectors before he had to go back into cover again.

Gunfire was all over the place and pretty soon it turned into a mini war zone. Explosions, shrapnel flying all over the place and plenty of Collector blood stains.

"I'm out! Throw me a mag!" Liara shouted as her Avenger clicked.

"Here! Make it count!" Austin yelled over the loud explosions as he took a magazine clip from his combat belt and threw it to Liara.

The Collectors didn't last long, but another wave quickly replaced the one they had just killed.

 _"Eighty-four percent."_ Said EDI.

"EDI! Get us out of here!" Austin yelled.

" _I am simultaneously fighting Collector firewalls in over 8,000 nodes. I am tasked to capacity."_ Said EDI.

"Whatever you say." Liara sighed as she armed her shoulder cannon.

"Watch it! They've brought out the big guns!" said Griffin who also activated his dual shoulder cannons.

The next platform this time had several Collectors and a Scion. At first, that didn't look like a problem. But then one of the Collectors started to glow.

"I will show you true power!"

"Watch it! Harbinger's back!" Austin yelled as the Collector feel back down, now once again covered in orange cracks and with glowing eyes.

"Go for the optics, Chiktikka. Go for the optics!" said Tali.

The little combat drone hovered around the scion who tried to swipe at it, but to no avail. Harbinger threw several dark biotic attacks at the team. Liara blocked some of them with a barrier, but a few did make Austin and Griffin stagger back.

"We could use some heavy artillery here, Griffin! Anything new you wanna try out?!" Austin shouted as he ducked back into cover to avoid the oncoming gunfire.

"I've got something, but it's mad!" Griffin replied.

"Anything's better than this!" said Liara who ducked just in time to avoid one of Harbinger's warp attacks.

"Fire in the hole!" Griffin yelled as he threw a surprisingly large cylinder object at the four Collectors.

The insect humanoids briefly looked at the device puzzlingly as it landed at their feet. It then suddenly opened and seemed to explode with some kind of liquid which sprayed over the floor and even splatted onto the Collectors. One even slipped and fell over.

"You cannot beat us!" Harbinger continued, completely unfazed by the fact the Collector he was possessing was now covered in this substance.

"Was that supposed to happen?" Austin asked, ducking back slightly as a shot impacted on the side of the bit of wall he was taking cover behind.

"Wait a second!" Griffin said. He looked as though he was waiting for something else to happen.

Sure enough, it did. The device then exploded in a rather large fire ball, causing the fluid it had dispersed to ignite. The three normal Collectors seemed to screech in pain as they caught fire and the one that had fallen on the fire desperately tried to put out the flames by rolling. It was panicking so much though that it simply rolled in more of the flames. Harbinger even exploded since he'd been covered in most of the substance.

"Releasing control!"

The Scion meanwhile was still swiping desperately at Tali's combat drone, Chiktikka who was still hovering around the Husk's face and shocking its eyes. The Scion couldn't use its arm cannon since Chiktikka was too close. Plus, the Scion had extremely stiff joints, despite its huge muscular form.

Tali saw an opening and aimed her shotgun. The Scion fell as Tali shot out its knee and it lost its balance. As the Husk tried to get up, it saw Tali standing over it, shot gun aimed right at its head.

"Bosh'tet."

Tali fired and the Scion's face was blown to pieces.

Everyone took a moment to get their breath back. That had been a tough fight

"Everyone alright?" Austin asked.

Everyone gave a silent nod.

 _"Shepard, you must manually re-establish my link to the command console."_ said EDI.

Austin nodded to Tali who walked up to the control panel and reactivated the link. EDI's avatar, which had been crouched down on top of the panel this whole time, stood back up and turned to face everyone.

 _"I have regained control of the platform, Shepard."_ she said.

"Good work, EDI. I knew you wouldn't let us down." Austin smiled.

"I always work at optimal capacity." EDI seemed to smile back.

"Did we get what we needed?" Liara asked.

The platform they were stood on once again moved. This time though, it was intentional. EDI was in control now.

 _"I found data that could help us successfully navigate the Omega 4 relay. I have also found the Turian distress call that served as the lure for this trap. The Collectors were the source, but it is unusual."_ said EDI.

"I don't see why. It seems logical to me that the Collectors would've sent the original message as bait." said Griffin.

 _"Turian emergency channels have secondary encryption. It is present but corrupted in the message."_ said EDI.

"Are you sure? The Arkane Council would definitely have noticed that if it was. And I refuse to believe that they'd just send us into a trap unknowingly if they did." Austin asked.

 _"Your beliefs are correct, Shepard. The Arkane Council did not know about the corruption either because it was fixed in the message they received."_ EDI explained.

"I fear I'm beginning to see where this is going. We're not the only ones that received the message, are we? Someone else intercepted it, and changed the encryption." Said Liara.

 _"Correct, and I have found out who: The Illusive Man himself."_ Said EDI.

"That son of a bitch!" said Austin angrily.

"Only a matter of time before Cerberus tried another hit on us, but I never would've expected this. They're not as stupid as we might think." Said Griffin.

 _"Uh… Major. We've got another problem. The Collector ship is powering up. You need to get out before their weapons come online. I'm not losing another Normandy."_ Said Joker.

As the pilot spoke, the large tunnel they'd been in earlier started was filled with some sort of wind. Obviously that was first sign of the ship powering back up.

 _"I do not have full control of their systems. I will do what I can. Sending coordinates for dropship extraction."_ Said EDI.

"Come on. Let's move!" said Austin.

* * *

This time, they didn't bother trying to take it slow. The Collectors knew they were here now, and they were coming for them.

Pretty soon, the team where once again in another large room of the ship. There were more platforms in the way of where they needed to go.

 _"I am opening a door on the far side of the room."_ said EDI.

Sure enough, the door on the far side of the room opened.

"Careful, this is a good place for an ambush." Austin advised.

They made their way gently across the platforms. Within seconds however, they was another sudden lurch. This time though, the platform they were on stood still. Instead, the platforms that had been joined to the one they were on detached and started hovering. This was a problem since there was a massive drop between the platform and the door. Not even the Helldivers would be able to jump that far, let alone Tali.

The hovering platforms then started to circle around the main platform, which also started very slowly spinning in the other direction.

"This ain't good." Griffin growled as he readied his mingun.

"Let us see how you deal with these odds, Shepard. Release the Captains!" Harbinger's voice echoed throughout the ship.

Five of the outlining platforms suddenly opened one dispensed a crouched Collector. But these weren't ordinary Collectors, they looked different. Unlike the usual Collectors, these ones had a lighter skin colour, a more muscular build and larger heads with oriented horns on them. These, Captains as Harbinger seemed to call them also had two extra eyes compared to normal Collectors and each one of them had a special weapon on their back.

Two of the Collector Captains had Collector assault rifles, one had a sniper, and another had what looked like a pistol. This particular Captain also appeared to have a very small swarm of seekers flying around it. The final one had the usual Collector particle beam and was being controlled by Harbinger.

The team stood their ground as the Captains all stood up and glared at their targets.

"Made some upgrades have you? Still won't save you." said Griffin as he fired several shot at one of the Captains.

To everyone's utter astonishment though, the Captain leapt high into the air, avoiding Griffin's fire and then landed on their platform. The Captain charged at Griffin and grabbed his mingun. The two opponents started wrestling with one another trying to shake their grip. Austin and the others would've helped him, but the other Captains then opened fire. They took cover inside the inner part of their platform, behind some of walls it had.

Austin took this time to scan one of the Captains. To his surprise, he could clearly see signs of advanced speed implants, reinforce metal on the exo skeletons, harder skin tissue and armour, and even other bits of technology which clearly looked like copies or knock offs of Helldiver technology.

"Helldiver Collector hybrids. They've learned." said Austin. He then turned to the other who kept their heads down to avoid all the constant gun fire and pieces of platform flying all over the place. "Be careful, they've copied some of our tech!" he said.

Liara threw up a few biotic barriers to try and deflect some of the Collector fire. Tali once again activated Chiktikka and fired three shots from her shotgun. Griffin meanwhile eventually managed to kick the Collector Captain he was wrestling with away. As he swung at the Captain with the blade end of his gun however, the Captain suddenly flew over him and back onto one of the rotating platforms. Even these Collectors had wings.

Griffin quickly decided to abandon this fight and headed back to his teammates.

"They seem to have advanced combat training too. Hand to hand included." he said.

"We can still..." Austin said, but he was interrupted by a sudden groan of pain.

Everyone looked to see Tali staggering back and clutching her stomach. The Collectors had shot her.

"TALI!" Austin yelled as he ran over to the Quarian.

"Nnnngh! I'm alright, Austin! But they punctured my suit. Think I took one in the hip," Tali groaned. She did indeed sound alright, just slightly injured as though someone had simply punched or kicked her. She'd live. At worst she'd probably just get a bit ill from this, but not die.

Still, she wasn't in any shape to fight any more. Austin put her net to Griffin while she started applying some medi gel to her wounds and trying to patch her suit back up. Griffin went to return fire, but an order from Austin stopped him.

"Griffin, protect Tali! She can't fight with suit punctured!" he said.

Despite that Griffin preferred to attack rather than defend, he did as he was told and refrained from firing. Just as he was about to go back into cover however, he spotted another Collector Captain aiming at him, this time with a sniper rifle. Griffin went to fire, but wasn't fast enough ant the Collector fired. The shot hit the demolition expert in the chest and he slumped onto the wall. The shot hadn't killed him, he was too tough for that. At worst, the bullet would simply be a flesh wound, Griffin's shields and armour had slowed the bullet down considerably, plus all Helldivers were given special injections which made them stronger, faster, more resistant to pain and more immune to diseases than their normal kind. So although Griffin was down but not out, he was vulnerable.

"Griffin! Sniper!" Austin yelled.

Both he and Liara ducked to avoid the sniper next shot before Liara threw a warp at it. The Captain quickly sped to one side to avoid it and went back behind cover.

Another Captain then suddenly landed right in front of Griffin's currently unconscious body and pointed it's assault rifle at him. Austin was too preoccupied with Harbinger and the others at the moment, so Liara went for it. She ran and jumped over Griffin's body. As she did, she holstered her own rifle and kicked the Collector Captain's one out of its hands. The Captain looked only to then be kicked back by Liara.

The Asari had had over two years to learn a few new things. One of them, was advanced hand to hand. Plus, Xun and Zartrack had taught her a few things as well.

Liara turned back to see if Griffin was alright, but she failed to notice that her kicked hadn't kicked the Collector Captain as far back as she'd hoped. The Captain's left hand seemed to change into some sort of knife and it swung at Liara. The Asari just managed to hear her attacker in time though and she ducked her head under it. She then swung her left leg at the Collector as it missed its target and swung over her. Unfortunately, the Collector did the same and ducked under Liara's leg.

The two opponents exchanged several elbow blocks and swings at one another. At the same time, Griffin had now regained consciousness. He groaned as he tried to get back up. The Collector Captain then deployed it's wings and hovered up slightly very fast. At the same time, it kicked Liara, causing her to stagger back and almost fall of the edge. Just in time though, she regained her balance just as the Captain went to shoot Griffin in the head, pushing him down with its foot in the process. Liara noticed this just in time and did a running kick in the Collector. Unfortunately, they Collector had still been flying and it simply returned the attack with a violent push.

This time, it was enough to send Liara other the edge. Fortunately, the Asari just managed to grip the edge and held on. Unfortunately however, the Collector Captain she'd just been fighting once again aimed for Griffin's head. Just as it was about to pull the trigger however, Austin suddenly appeared from behind and charged the Collector. The insect was sent flying and its head banged into one of the other platforms that was floating around their one. It's neck snapped in the process and it plummeted into the abyss.

Liara then pulled herself up and then jumped at the hovering platform opposite her. Two of the other Collector Captains where waiting for her. The one that was flying fired on her, but she ducked behind cover. Rather shockingly, the other one ripped away a large section of the platform and threw it at Liara. The Asari rolled out of the way and the piece instead hit very close to where Austin and Griffin where. The two Helldiver only just dodged it.

"Whoa! Would you quit throwing shit?!" Austin shouted.

Austin then noticed the Collector Captain sniper again. He wasn't going to make the same mistake this time.

"Griffin, on your nine!" he yelled.

Griffin immediately looked to his left and threw one of his grenades at the platform the sniper was standing on. The platform and exploded and was sent plummeting down to join the dead Collector Captain from earlier. The sniper however had somehow survived and had been sent flying by the explosion. It quickly regained control of its flight using its wings, but this short lived right before it flew straight into Griffin's left gauntlet. The massive fist hit the Collector so hard, he snapped the Captain's spine. The sniper fell into the blackness to join its comrade and the destroyed platform.

Two down, three to go. Liara was now in a fist fight with other two captains and Harbinger had now hooped onto their platform brandishing what looked like some sort of organic blade in place of his right arm.

"You will know pain, Shepard." Said the Reaper as he raised the blade challengingly.

Austin didn't even hesitate as he drew Excalibur from his back. Griffin immediately knew that Austin had this one. He turned his attention to the platform Liara and the other two captains where on. He readied himself to jump once it had got close enough.

"Watch it... Watch it..." said Austin cautiously.

Griffin leapt onto to the platform, lunging at the other Collector Captain at the same time. The Collector unfortunately noticed this and flew out of the way just in time. Griffin still landed on the platform however, rolling back onto his feet as he did, and he immediately charged at his opponent. He gave a somewhat intimidating growl as he charged.

The Collector Captain brought it's fist up, stopping Griffin before he could punch back. In two swift moves, it then elbowed him in the stomach and then delivered a swift kick to his helmet. The demolition expert staggered back and soon ended up back to back with Liara.

Despite that the odds where now even, Griffin still felt as though they weren't quite right. The Collector Captain he was facing seemed somewhat more agile, while the one Liara was facing had a slightly heavier build. This quickly made Griffin remember a chess move that Helldivers could sometimes put to good use in situations like these. Castling!

"Switch!"

"Got it!"

Both Helldiver immediately switched positions and where now battling the other opponent. Sure enough, Liara was able to keep up with the fast high kicking and sweeps of her Collector Captain while Griffin was quickly putting his boxing exercises to good use with his Collector Captain. He didn't have all those muscles and his massive build for nothing.

Both Austin and Harbinger charged at one another, sword's raised. Austin ducked under Harbinger's first swing before the Collector whirled around and swung at him again. This time though, the Helldiver blocked it. It was odd actually, Austin wouldn't have figured he'd be fencing with a Collector, let alone a Collector being controlled by a Reaper.

Still, he hadn't used Excalibur in a while, he was at least glad to someone duelling with him.

"Liara, catch!" Griffin yelled as he tossed his mingun to Liara who caught it and immediately used it to counter or block several shots from her Collector Captain's pistol. She then whirled around another shot and then used the blade end to stab the Captain in the abdomen. As the Collector struggled to push the blade out however, it threw it's pistol to the other Captain that Griffin was fighting.

The Collector caught it and delivered several fast punches to Griffin, knocking him back. Griffin simply growled at this and swung his gauntleted left hand at his opponent. The Collector Captain blocked the Helldiver's attack with its palm. The Collector's other hand, which had the pistol in it, then thrust into Griffin's chin and fired. The bullet didn't go through due to Griffin's shields and hardened armour, but it still disoriented him.

The Collector Captain used this opening and threw Griffin to the ground. It pinned the demolition expert to the ground as he tried to get up and then fired several more shots, this time at Griffin's neck. The demolition expert seemed to stop trying to resist.

"No!" Liara yelled as she charged the captain and knocked it back. Taking the advantage while the Collector was down, Liara swung the blade end of Griffin's minigun at it. Just in time though, the Collector Captain rolled to the side as the blade became imbedded in the ground instead. The Collector captain delivered a swift kick to Liara's stomach and she staggered back.

As the Captain went to attack the Asari though, Liara was faster and attacked first. She punched and then kicked the Collector before it eventually managed to seize and opening and swung at her. Once again though, Liara backed away and the swing missed.

Liara then did something that she hadn't yet tried before. She activated her biotics and used them to speed herself up. She had been taught this by Alaara but hadn't tied it out herself, let alone in combat. But she didn't have much choice. These Collector Captains could compete with them on nearly every level.

Liara punched the Collector Captain several times with such speed that she became a blur. All the while, the Collector that Liara was fighting failed to notice Griffin slowly getting back up. Once again, despite being shot several times, he wasn't dead. In fact the bullets hadn't even impacted into his skin. His shields and armour had deflected them and Liara had managed to intervene just before his shields gave out.

The Demolition expert picked up his mingun and loaded a new set of round into it. These Collector Captain's where about to find out what happened when he got pissed off. Right as he pulled the trigger though, a small shot to his shoulder from a Collector Captain. The charge shot from his mingun hit the platform instead of the Collectors. The explosion sent both him and Liara flying back onto the platform that Austin and Harbinger where currently duelling on while the platform they'd just been on was half destroyed and was sent plummeting, taking the two Collector Captain's with it. Liara and Griffin slowly sat up as they watched the platform disappear into the abyss. It was only then however that they became aware of the sword fight still going on behind them. Liara wanted to help her bond mate, but at the same time she didn't want to get in the way.

Austin and Harbinger clashed blades back and forth across the platform. Austin was starting to regret that he'd been enjoying the prospect of sword fighting again. Harbinger was not what could be called a worthy opponent. He never seemed to tire and he also seemed to try and punch Austin more than trying to strike at him. Austin reckoned he'd have a dent in his helmet at this rate.

Eventually, the Helldiver decided he'd had enough of this. Harbinger managed to get another punch at him, but that was the last time. Austin ducked under another one of Harbinger's swings and then he performed a mover very similar to how he'd killed the Terror Geth 3 years ago.

His left arm and hand became completely armoured and he now had what Helldivers often called "Fist of steel." He immediately thrust forward and smashed Harbinger's face in.

The Collector staggered, blinded slightly at having lost nearly one side of its face. The Captain swung frantically at Austin before attempting a blind lunge at him. The Helldiver however simply blocked it, his sword ending up in the gap between Harbinger's pincer like sword arm. Austin didn't waste this opportunity while he had Harbinger's arm locked like this. He activated his left omni tool.

Harbinger only regained his sights for a moment before Austin brought the orange blade down and severed his blade arm completely.

"Kill one, and a thousand more shall replace it!" said the Collector just as Austin plunged the blade into Harbinger's face hard and then severed his neck with Excalibur. The decapitated body fell to floor, completely lifeless.

"Griffin, are you alright?" Austin asked urgently as he saw Griffin struggling to get up without wincing in pain from some of his wounds. He didn't look too bad, but there was some sign s of blood.

Don't worry, Shepard. You're not getting rid of me that easily. I'll be fine. Just need a bit of medical care."

"Then we'd better get back to the ship. Tali's not to good herself." Said Liara.

Austin helped the Quarian up and they made for the door. Just before they could head through though, it closed.

"EDI? We've got a problem here." said Austin. He banged on the door several times, but it wouldn't open.

 _"A temporary setback on Firewall 3217. Rerouting commands through Firewall 7164."_ said EDI.

"Just get another door open!" Griffin ordered.

 _"I have successfully opened a door on the opposite wall. I will keep it open as long as I can."_ said EDI.

Sure enough, a door on the far side of the room opened. The team didn't even hesitate to head through it.

"Down there. That's where we came in." said Tali as she saw the room where they'd seen the Collector body earlier and where they'd learned the Collector's origins.

"Better to go the short way. Jump!" said Austin. He then turned to Tali. She wouldn't be able to do a jump that high, especially in the state she was currently in. "Sorry about this, Tali."

Austin scooped Tali up in his arms and jumped. Liara quickly followed. The landings where hard, but left no damage. Helldiver armour was designed for this sort of thing anyway.

Griffin quickly followed and jumped. As he landed however, he fell to his knees clutching his bullet wound in pain. Liara quickly ran to help him up.

"I'm alright. Just stings." Griffin groaned.

 _"Uh, Major? Hate to rush you, but those weapons are about to come online. Might wanna double-time it. You know, so we can leave before the blow the Normandy in half."_ Austin heard Joker say.

The Major quickly put Tali back down on her feet and they continued their journey back to the Hellhound.

 _"We're out of time, Major! We have to go."_ Said Joker.

"You heard the man – into the Hellhound! Move!" Austin yelled, providing cover fire as the other got into the dropship.

_"Strap in people – gonna make them work for it this time."_

The dropship locked into place in the hanger. Liara rushed Tali and Griffin to the med bay while Austin ran back up to the bridge. He could already see the beam of the Collector Ship's main cannon as the Normandy spun and dodged to avoid it. Joker really had his work cut out for him.

"We can't dodge this guy forever, EDI. Get us the hell out of here!" said the pilot.

 _"Specify a destination, Mr Moreau."_ Said EDI.

"Anywhere that's not here!" Joker yelled as the ship gave violent lurch.

 _"Very well. Engaging mass effect core."_ Said EDI.

The ship immediately accelerated to mass relay speeds and they soon lost sight of Collector Ship behind them. They were in the clear.

* * *

 _"Call coming in from the Arkane Council, Major. Figure they're just as pissed at the Illusive Man as you are."_ said Joker.

Austin once again walked into the comm room and the council appeared before him. They didn't look happy.

"Major, we heard about what happened. It would never have occurred to us that someone had fixed the encryption. We've notified the Turians that the message is fake. They should stay clear. We can only tell you that we're sorry the lives of your squad where risked." said Spartan.

"It's not your fault, councillors. It's Cerberus you should be angry with." Austin replied.

"It would seem that they're not going to leave you alone. We'll have to do something about that." said one of the Arkanes.

"We'll put a plan into motion to try and keep Cerberus occupied. This'll remain secret though. We're not taking any chances unless Cerberus has spies in our ranks." said Tarnack.

"Good. And I know now to be a lot more careful. With the Collectors and with Cerberus." said Austin.

"Maybe, but things are about to get a lot tougher. EDI confirmed our suspicions. Both the Reapers and the Collector ships use an advanced identify Friend/Foe system that the relays recognize." Tarnack replied.

"All we need to do is get our hands on one of those IFFs." said Spartan.

"If only I'd been told that sooner. I was just on the Collector Ship." Austin sighed.

"As we said though, Major. EDI just confirmed it. Besides, even with your squad's skill, you wouldn't have had enough time to extract it. But not to worry, there are other options." said another Arkane.

"I'm listening."

"An Alliance science team recently determined that the "Great Rift" on the planet Klendagon is actually an impact crater from a mass accelerator weapon." Spartan explained.

"A very old mass accelerator at that. Cerberus unfortunately acted before we did and they sent a team to find either the weapon or its target. Our spies tell us they found both." said Tarnack.

"The weapon was defunct, but it helped Cerberus and us plot the flight path of the intended target – a 37 million year old derelict Reaper. Cerberus found it damaged and trapped in the gravity of a brown dwarf." said Spartan.

"I saw first-hand what Sovereign did to the Citadel fleet. Hard to imagine anything could stop something that powerful." said Austin.

"This vessel is a relic from a battle wagged while mammals took their first steps on Earth. There's no trace of the species that took the shot. Perhaps it was their one moment of defiance before they were wiped out." said an unknown councillor.

"I take it there's a catch though? Even a dead Reaper can still cause trouble." Austin asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. Cerberus lost contact with their team shortly after they boarded and we lost contact with our spy a few days later. His last entry only mentioned something about Indoctrination. I fear we will have to accept the worse. It's a shame; he was one of our best." said Tarnack regrettably.

"If the Reaper's IFF can help Shepard stop the Collectors, his sacrifice will not have been in vain." said another councillor.

"Have Cerberus done anything about their missing Science team?" Austin asked.

"They sent an initial reconnaissance, but it revealed no clues. They committed more resources either; they say it's too risky. Though to be fair, the same goes for us. But this time, we need that IFF. This may be the only chance we have left." Spartan replied.

"I agree. Though if it's this dangerous, I'd feel it best to wait until we're ready. Some of the crew are still distracted, not focused on the mission." said Austin.

"Do what you have to do, Shepard. Just keep this mind. We'll forward the coordinates to Mr Moreau for when the time is right. Good luck, Shepard. And don't worry, from now on, we'll deal with Cerberus." said Tarnack.

"Also, in the meantime, we'd recommend you still keep an eye on Jacob Taylor and Miranda Lawson. They may be on our side now, but we still don't trust them completely." said Spartan.

"Nor do I, Councillors. Nor do I." said Austin as the call ended.

* * *

"So the Illusive man tried to sell us out. Was wondering when he would." said Jacob.

Austin had gathered him, Miranda, Mordin, Dell, Sill and Alaara in the comm room. Jacob's reaction to the Illusive Man trying to get them killed had been better than Austin had thought. Miranda hadn't really said anything on the subject. Austin did have to admit that her attitude had improved a bit recently. Perhaps now she was starting to see that Cerberus wasn't what she had thought it was and that the Helldiver's weren't the enemy.

"Lied to you. Used you. Unacceptable." said Mordin, agreeing with Jacob's statement.

"What do you expect? Are far as he's concerned, Jacob and I are the enemy now." said Miranda.

"He should be looking at the bigger picture. He says Cerberus looks out for humanity, yet he tries to stop us from helping. Just shows that he's wrong." said Alaara.

"Exactly. And if he tries to put my squad or any of this team in harm's way again, losing two of his best operatives will be the second worst thing that happens to him in his life!" said Austin. He then turned back to EDI's avatar that was currently stood on the table. "EDI, are you sure this IFF is going to work?" he asked.

 _"My analysis is correct, Shepard. I have also determined the approximate location of the Collector home world based on navigational data from their vessel."_ said EDI.

A huge map of the galaxy then appeared in front of her and it zoomed in on the centre. EDI's avatar pointed right at the galactic core. Everyone fell into a surprised and somewhat confused silence.

"That can't be right." said Miranda.

"EDI's never wrong, Lawson. You should know, you built her. The Collector home world is somewhere inside the galactic core." said Austin.

"But it can't be. The core is just black holes and exploding suns. There are no habitable planets there." said Jacob.

"Could be an artificial construction. Space station protected by powerful mass effect fields and radiation shields." Mordin suggested.

"Is that even possible?" asked Sill.

"Even the Collectors don't have that kind of technology." said Miranda as she shook her head. Austin on the other hand knew better.

"Sovereign did. And besides, you're forgetting that the Collectors are just servants of our real enemy. We've all seen what the Reapers are capable of. They built the mass relays, the Citadel, the Keepers and have wiped out countless other races before us. Who's to say that they can't build a space station surrounded by black holes?" he said.

"Well, just about every law of physics would say that." said Dell.

Everyone looked at the Arkane engineer for a moment. Dell quickly finished his sentence as they did. "But since when do the Reapers play by the rules?"

"It certainly now makes sense why no one's ever returned from a trip through the Omega 4 mass relay." said Alaara.

 _"Miss T'onrak is correct. The logical conclusion is that a small safe zone exists on the far side of the relay. A region where ships can survive. Standard relay transit protocols would not allow safe transport. Drift of several thousand kilometres is common, and would be fatal in the galactic core. The Reaper IFF must trigger the relay to us more advanced, encrypted protocols."_ said EDI.

"So what's the plan, Major? We going to get that IFF?" Alaara asked.

"Not yet. Just because we can follow the Collectors through the Relay doesn't mean we can take them out. I don't want to go after them until I know we're ready." said Austin.

"Sooner or later we need that IFF. I say, why wait?" said Jacob.

"Your opinion is noted, Taylor. But you're not the one in charge here, Shepard is." said Alaara defensively.

"For once, Alaara, we agree. It's a derelict Reaper. Suppose the Collectors are waiting for us? We may want to still keep building up this team before we take that kind of risk." said Miranda.

"I didn't think you cared about that." said Alaara, rather surprised by Miranda saying something like that.

"Don't presume to know me all the time, T'onrak. I may not act it, but I want the Collectors stopped as much as you." said Miranda.

Alaara didn't say anything, but simply gave Miranda and acknowledging nod.

"That's why you're all here. We all need to be strong and focused for this mission. Besides, Tali and Griffin need some time to recover from their injuries." said Austin.

"It's your decision, Major. Whatever you decide we're with you." said Jacob as he saluted.

"Everyone get some rest. We could all use some. Dismissed."

* * *

"You had me so worried when you were trapped on the Collector ship. Thank goodness for EDI." said Kelly.

"That sounds like more than just professional concern, Kelly." said Austin. He hoped this wasn't going to start ending up like that dream he'd had.

"You're more than just my commanding officer, you're my friend. EDI brought you back to us. If she had a body, I'd give her a big hug." Kelly smiled.

Austin relaxed. There was nothing wrong with Kelly being a friend. Plus, as Austin recalled, Kelly seemed to be spending a lot of time talking with Jack. It did certainly give him the feeling that something was going on between the two.

"Fair to say that so would I. We might not have made it out alive without her." he said.

"The Arkane Council made sure EDI was installed for this mission. Now I see why." said Kelly. "Anyway, is there anything you need?"

"Anything I need to know? I imagine some of the crew might be on edge after all this." Austin asked.

"At the moment, the crew seems fine. You do however have a new message at your private terminal. It arrived from a Helldiver scouting team while you were on the Collector ship." Kelly replied.

"Thanks, Kelly. Can I quickly ask you something personal though?" Austin replied.

"About you or me?" Kelly asked.

"You. I've recently noticed you've been spending quite a lot of your free time with Jack. Is there anything going on there?" Austin asked. He did his best to ask politely. He wasn't intruding, he was just curious.

"I... I'll admit I care about her. She's been through so much in her life. Despite her attitude sometimes, she'd confided in me a lot. I don't know if she feels the same way about me, but we are at least friends." said Kelly.

"I see. Well, thank you for telling me. I do hope that there is something going on between you two. Personally, I think Jack needs someone, considering all that she's been through. Someone like you." said Austin.

"Thank you, Shepard. It means a lot to me to hear you say that." Kelly smiled. "If you'll excuse me, I should get back to work. But thank you for the talk. It's always nice chatting with you."

"You too, Kelly." Austin smiled as the Yeoman went back to work.

The Major then went to his private terminal and accessed the message that Kelly had told him about. Turned out he had more than one. Mostly, they were just a few bits of junk mail that had somehow ended up here. Austin simply deleted them. He then found what he was looking for. Surprisingly, it was a message from Arnold. It said:

_Shepard_

_Xun told me how I'd be able to get in touch with you. I hope things are well with you and that your mission is progressing well too._

_I can only say thank you again for saving me and my squad on Omega. The Arkanes have now got us doing scouting mission most of the time. Some of Omega squad want to see some action again, but they don't complain._

_Recently we found something I thought you might be interested in. The Arkane Council also felt you should have a look._

_We recently found some Intel on a Cerberus base that said that the MSV Rosalie, a survey ship with Cerberus connections, has gone missing. The survey team was field-testing a new prototype: the Hammerhead planet-side exploration rover. In addition, scientists Dr Manuel Cayce and Dr Robert O'Loy where aboard the MSV Rosalie and where conducting research for them._

_There was even a very small bit of data that made reference that they'd found some Prothean ruins. Given that you have Liara with you, and that you've now discovered the Collectors where once Protheans, I felt this might be of some help to you. I don't know how exactly, but I'm sure you'll find some use._

_Good luck out there, old friend._

_Give the Collectors hell for us!_

_Captain Arnold Winchester, Omega Squad._

Austin finished reading and gave a small smile.

 _"Good old Arnold."_ he thought to himself.

* * *

**Was going to have two crew conversations in this as well, but I've decided to move them to the next chapter, which as you probably know be now will be the Firewalker DLC. At the moment, I only plan on including the fist and last missions of that DLC. The other missions don't seem that important, and I like to try and not include too many side missions unless they're important later on int he story or in ME3.**

**Until next time...**

**Don't forget to keep leaving those comments.**


	23. Chapter 23, Firewalker

**Quite glad I got this one done quickly. Slowly getting back to my more usual pace if we're lucky.**

**The two Hammerhead mission ended up being rather short, so I decided to include some more character development in this one. Specifically, Griffin, Dell, Thane and Dash.**

**Hope you like it. You'll also hopefully know what the next chapter will cover when you read this.**

* * *

**Chapter 23**

**Firewalker**

The Normandy was already en-route to investigate Project Firewalker.

In the meantime, Austin decided to once again have another little chat with some of the crew. He still hadn't yet talked to Thane since the Drell came aboard and he also felt he should have another talk with Jacob.

"Major. Can I help you with something?" Jacob asked.

"I'm more interested in just talking for a bit." said Austin.

"If you want, Major. Like Cerberus, you have ranks, but you're not the Alliance. No rules about fraternization. Your boat, your call. You want to get friendly with everyone, that's your business." said Jacob casually.

"Relax Jacob. I'm just interested in what makes you tick." Austin replied.

"Anyone else said that, I'd walk away. Most Cerberus people try to play like the Illusive Man, hiding bullshit behind a smile. But you – I like what I've seen. I'll give you a shot. What do you want to know?" said Jacob.

"So… you got any family waiting for you back home? When this is done it'd be nice to have someone to go home to." Austin asked.

"I'm an only child and no extended family. Never settled down. Didn't seem fair with this job. But, you can't miss what you never had." Jacob replied.

"You seem okay with taking a risk on me. Why?" Austin asked. He was actually curious as to why Jacob was trusting him and the Helldivers this well compared to Miranda.

"Soldiers like us know how important trust is to the crew. I've not seen it on a Cerberus ship, and certainly not from the people they put in command. But considering how friendly you Helldivers tend to be, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at seeing it here. Still, you seem to focus more on the job. A threat this big, you can't just throw people at it blind. They need inspiration." Said Jacob.

"There's a lot riding on this, but we can't give up everything." Said Austin confidently.

"Not always a choice we get to make. Good to try, though. I gave it my best back in the Alliance. Got labelled a troublemaker. They were always on the lookout for disruptive types. Cerberus wasn't any better. The only difference was that they put more effort into hiding how much they spied on us." Said Jacob.

"Let them watch you now. We're not hiding anything." Austin said without hesitation.

"Wouldn't matter if we were. It's not like they can reels us in anymore. The Helldivers are handling this whether they like it or not. Anyway, I should get back to prep. Nice talking with you, Shepard. Let's do it again some time." Said Jacob as he went back to his work. Just before he could though, Austin quickly spoke again.

"Just a minute. Any thoughts on how to prepare against the Collectors?" the Helldiver asked. He still felt it best that they upgrade if they could at all.

"Well, I know the Arkanes specked this ship to the original Normandy, but you were there—the Collectors cut her like butter. This armour just isn't top of the line anymore. People will die if we don't upgrade. Alliance had some new toys in secret development before I left. I could try and pull a few favours." Said Jacob.

The former Cerberus operative showed Austin what he had. It wasn't much, but Austin did see something they could use. One of Jacob's selections was Silaris heavy ship armour. Austin had a feeling they would need this. The specs of the armour didn't say if it was strong enough to withstand the firepower of a Collector Ship, but it was still worth investing in. It might just provide the edge they needed.

With that taken care of, Austin headed down to the crew deck. Before he chatted to Thane though, he immediately headed for the medbay. Griffin and Tali where still recovering from their injuries. Dr Chakwas immediately took notice of her friend.

"Hello, Shepard." She said.

"How are they doing?" Austin asked.

"Why don't you ask them yourself?" Chakwas smiled as she indicated to two of the beds. Griffin had removed his armour and was currently sat on the bed dressed in his suit mesh. Tali meanwhile, was lying on the bed, covered in a lot more bandages than Griffin. They mostly went over the parts of her suit from where the Collector Captains had shot her.

"You two okay?" Austin smiled. "You certainly look well."

"Still stings a bit, but it's getting better." Griffin replied.

"How's Tali?" Austin asked, noticing that Tali hadn't taken notice of him being in the room and was still lying down on the bed.

"She's sleeping at the moment. She got quite a bad fever from her wounds. She should be fine in a couple of days." said Griffin.

The demolition expert adjusted himself slightly so that he was now sat on the edge of the bed and facing Austin.

"What about you?" Austin asked, still concerned for Griffin. He'd really grown to like to the Demolition expert.

"Doctor Chakwas tells me I'll be okay to leave the medbay tomorrow, but she's said I should avoid combat for a few days. Seems the bullet broke one of my ribs too." Griffin replied, wincing slightly as he put his hand on where the wound had entered his chest. He currently had a bandage over it.

"Sorry to hear that. You're a good fighter." Said Austin.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll do okay without me. Besides, it'll give the others a chance to catch up, so to speak." Griffin smiled.

Austin simply chuckled and shook his head.

"Nothing ever dampens your spirits, does it, Alex?" he smiled.

"Not really. Having a belief in something really helps." Said Griffin.

"You sound just like Ashley now. Speaking of which, how's it going between you and her?" Austin asked curiously.

"Better than I thought it would. We've made a few calls from time to time. I can see why you two where close friends. She's quite an interesting woman." Griffin replied.

"I did think you two would work well together. You both have many similarities." Said Austin.

"Hmm, a belief in God is the first. Add to that, we both believe there's a heaven of some sorts and we love serving in the military." Said Griffin.

"Has she said anything about me?" Austin asked.

"Other than hoping you're okay, no." Griffin replied.

"It actually works well for the both you that you're a Helldiver. That way she's able to pursue a relationship with you." Said Austin.

"What do you mean?" Griffin asked, slightly confused by this.

"She's an Alliance soldier. She's also very by the book, if you know what I mean. If you were in the Alliance too, she'd always say that fraternization is forbidden." Austin explained.

"Oh, I see. Because we're not part of the Alliance, it's okay. If I recall as well, we ourselves are allowed to become involved with other Helldivers. Alaara and Sandra are primary examples, if I recall." Said Griffin.

"Indeed. Also works for my relationship with Liara." Said Austin.

"I am still wondering actually when you're going to ask the question." Griffin smiled cheekily.

"That's private, Griffin." Austin replied slyly.

"Forgive me, Major. But it always warms my heart to see something like love flourishing, even during times like these." Said Griffin.

"Our mission's too important at the moment, but maybe when this is over I'll consider looking for a ring. Maybe an Azure coloured one…" Austin smiled happily as he started thinking of the possibility of actually getting a wedding ring for Liara.

He hadn't really thought it until now. Given how there was the possibility that they might not be coming back from this mission, though he intended to try and prove that wrong, perhaps he should at least consider proposing. Then if they truly did survive, he'd had something to look forward to. At the same time of course, he didn't want to rush Liara into something like this. True she'd remained faithful to him for two years while he'd been dead, and they'd been together for almost a year when they'd first met. Plus, Liara had said that it would soon be the anniversary of the day he died. Austin didn't know yet if that was something he should care about, but he knew Liara cared. Perhaps he should get her something nice, or perhaps spend the entire day with her, make a promise that he'd never leave her again.

The Helldiver quickly snapped his mind back to reality though before he could continue contemplating. He and the others still had a mission to complete. There'd be time to think about these plans later.

"Good talking to you again, Alex. Next time you talk to Ash, tell her I said Hi." Said Austin as he and Griffin banged fists.

"Will do, Shepard. Thanks for coming by."

As Austin turned to leave, he quickly turned to Chakwas.

"Do let me know when Tali wakes up, please." He said.

"I will, Shepard. She'll be alright. She just needs rest." Said Chakwas.

Austin left the medbay and now headed into the life support room. True to what EDI had said to Thane, it did feel rather dry compared to the rest of the ship. Austin was actually beginning to wonder why Thane had asked to be put in here. Perhaps he would find out if he asked. Thane seemed very civil after all; Austin doubted he would mind being asked.

Austin found Thane sitting at a small table. The Drell had set up a small bed next to it. He was currently continuing with his prayers by the looks of things.

"Do you need something?" he asked as Austin approached.

"Have a few minutes to talk?" Austin asked.

"Certainly. We haven't had a chance since I joined." Said Thane.

"I assume you've settled in okay here?" Austin inquired.

"Yes. You're crew has also been very friendly towards me. Some of them also seem a bit fascinated with me. It's like they've never seen a Drell before." Said Thane.

"Well, to be fair, the Drell aren't part of the Helldivers. At least not yet, anyway. Also, you're people aren't often seen that much. As I recall, tend to stick to the Hanar world." Said Austin.

"I suppose that does explain it." Said Thane.

"Do you mind if I ask you something a bit more private?" Austin asked.

"That depends on what you are going to ask." Thane replied. "Though I think I can guess what it is."

"When we met you, you said you were dying." Said Austin.

"Yes. I thought you'd want to know more. You don't have to worry about the rest of the crew. My illness is not communicable, even to other Drell. It's called Kepral's Syndrome." Thane explained.

"Are you going to be all right until the end of the mission?" Austin asked, still a bit concerned. He'd hate to lose Thane before he was needed. Not only had the Helldivers gone through a lot of trouble to find and recruit him, but also because he had good skills. Skills that might just give them the advantage.

"I should be fine for another 2 to 3 years. The more time I spend in humid environments, the faster it progresses. I think it's safe to say that by the time my body is incapacitated; we'll be victorious, or dead. Either way, I won't be a burden to you." Said Thane.

"What exactly is the problem?" Austin asked.

"My people are native to an arid world. As you said, most of us now live on Kahje, the Hanar homeworld. It's very humid, and rains every day. Our lungs can't deal with the moisture. Over time, the tissue loses its ability to absorb oxygen. It becomes harder to breathe. Eventually, we suffocate." Said Thane.

"Can't they do something about that?" Austin asked.

"The Hanar have funded a genetic engineering program. They should be able to adapt us eventually. The project has only been running for a few years though. I don't believe my body will still draw breath by the time it bears fruit." Said Thane.

"Is there anything we can do here? The Normandy has a state of the art medical bay and we have some of the finest scientists in the galaxy." Austin offered.

"No, thank you. It's being attended to. If the medical minds in the Hanar illuminated Primacy can't solve the problem, I doubt your ship's medic could. No offense to her." Said Thane.

"It's alright. I understand what you're trying to say." Said Austin.

"Still, thank you for your concern, Shepard. Trust me. This won't affect my performance." Said Thane.

"Before I go, we need to have the best equipment possible to take on the Collectors. You have any leads I could chase down?" Austin asked.

"My old contact network often located rare equipment for me. Would you like me to get in touch with them?" asked Thane.

"Let's see what they've got." Said Austin.

Thane showed Austin what he had. Like Jacob, most of the equipment was still mostly pale in comparison to Helldiver tech, but there was a modular probe bay upgrade which could work very well for them. Austin approved them before the Normandy finally arrived at Zeona where they were said to find the location of this so called Hammerhead that Arnold had mentioned to him.

* * *

Austin sat in the shuttle, simply waiting until they landed. For this, he'd gone with Jack, Liara and Dash. The convict and the scout where currently exchanging some meaningless taunts with one another while Austin was simply thinking a bit more on what Griffin had said earlier.

"What are you gonna do if I do, kiddo? Kick my ass?" Jack laughed tauntingly.

"Helldivers kick all sorts of ass. Deal with it!" said Dash in a very cocky voice.

Jack couldn't really think of a good comeback to that. She was begging to understand why Dash was often called "The Helldiver with a mouth". Not only did he talk a lot, he had a sparkling sense of humour and always seemed to have at least one wisecrack. Sometimes it was annoying, other times it was downright hilarious.

"Alright. You win. Fuck you." Said Jack.

"Don't feel bad for losing, Jack. I've managed to annoy a whole Batarian slaver colony with my wisecracks." Dash smiled smugly.

The dropship eventually touched down and the doors opened. Jack made sure that her face mask was secure just before she ventured out. The hot atmosphere had a lot of ash, smoke and ash in it from the volcano and lava.

There were a few signs of wreckage that dotted the area. In addition to this, there was also a massive crate of some kind.

The nearby wreckage appeared to be repeating some kind of recorded log entry.

" _I don't think the ship is safe. We've run into the Geth far too often. I'm going to stay at the next site with Dr O'Loy. I'll think we'll be safe there."_ It said.

The team made their way over to the large crate. It was locked, but Austin could easily hack through the encryption. Within just a few seconds, a large ramp lowered itself down, revealing what was inside. Sure enough, they'd found the vehicle they'd been searching for, the Hammerhead. It actually bore some resemblance to the Mako Austin and the others had used on the original Normandy. It certainly shared the same front design and also had a large cannon on the top. Unlike the Mako however, the Hammerhead didn't have wheels, in fact it looked as though it had Thrusters of some kind. Could it hover? There was only one way to find out.

The team clambered into the confined space. Austin had to admit that the Hammerhead had a more comfortable and better designed interior than the Mako had. It still had the same seat positioning, but that wasn't a bad thing.

The Hammerhead had security protocols on it, but those where easily overridden. There was a gentle hum as the engines came to life and the vehicle slowly began to lift off the ground.

"This does feel rather weird, not having any wheels." said Austin.

"Let's just hope this one is easier to drive." Liara muttered.

"Well how hard can it be?" said Dash.

"Don't say that!" said Austin.

The Major very gently eased the controls over and the Hammerhead slowly turned. It certainly seemed to handle okay and the sensitivity was pretty good as well.

 _"Primary systems online."_ said synthetic male voice. _"Welcome to the M-44 Hammerhead infantry fighting vehicle. This is your on-board VI."_

An orange holographic map appeared on Austin's left. It was a rough 3 dimensional hologram of the area and it showed where most of the research material had landed from when the ship crashed. The first one was located just on the other side of the river of lava.

Austin took a moment to think. This thing was fast, something Dash would love, but he still wasn't sure if they could jump the gap. Then he felt a button on one of the control sticks. It was red. The holograms that were also being projected around the controls seemed to say, jump over it. Austin hated to risk it, but how else was he to find out what this thing did. As far as he could tell, there was no instruction manual.

"Strap tight, people. This may get a bit bumpy." He advised.

Everyone did so and made sure that they were properly secured in their seats, and Austin put his foot down on the accelerator pedal. To everyone's utter surprise, the Hammerhead's boost activated and it shot forward so fast that they literally sank into their seats.

"Woooooooohooooooo!" Dash yelled.

"Oh shut up!" Jack shouted as Austin eased the pressure down a bit and the Hammerhead's speed went to a more controllable level.

He then activated the jump just before they reached the edge and the Hammerhead jumped right over the lava.

_"Mission objectives located." Said the VI._

Austin hovered the Hammerhead over where the VI was indicating. Another button on the holographic display flashed several times. Austin pressed it and the Hammerhead started to shake. Austin managed to keep it steady long enough for the vehicle to gather the research data and samples.

 _"Acquired."_ said the VI. _"Caution: Guided missile system active."_

"Look at that." said Liara, amazed as she had a look at the research data.

"I had feeling you'd say that." Austin smiled under his helmet.

The next objective appeared to be further away, on the other side of the crater they were in. Luckily, Austin saw a way of hopefully getting up and over. The Hammerhead jumped out, but soon found its path blocked by a crashed part of the ship.

 _"Obstruction detected. Recommend using conventional weapons to clear path."_ said the VI.

Unlike the Mako, the Hammerhead's cannon wasn't controlled by a separate person. This one was controlled by the driver. Austin gently manoeuvred the Hammerhead until the cannon was properly lined up with the wreckage and pressed the trigger. A small shot fired from the cannon and the obstruction

 _"Path is now clear."_ the VI observed.

After that, everything else was pretty simple. All they had to do was keep repeating the boost and jumps until they had all the research data that had been lost during the MSV Rosalie's wreckage. Finally, they had the last piece.

 _"Mission objectives completed."_ said the VI.

With that done and dusted, Austin radioed the Normandy and made the Hammerhead jump high enough to get into the Normandy's cargo bay. It would take some time for the data recovered from the wreckage to be examined and decrypted, but Liara had assured Austin that she'd be able to use the data to find the Prothean ruins that Arnold had made mention to in his message about the Hammerhead.

Until then, Austin stuck around in the cargo bay and spent some time exercising in the simulator.

* * *

After about two hours, the Major finally took a break. As he came out of the simulator, he found Dell tinkering around with the Hammerhead, while Sill was scraping off the Cerberus paint in order to give the vehicle a small refit with Helldiver technology and to also give it Helldiver logos and paint scheme.

Austin went up to the Mako and looked at Dell. He was currently under the Hammerhead and appeared to have a few tools scattered around him. He'd been busy.

"Interesting new vehicle you got for us, Shepard. Sill and I can think of a lot of new tech ideas from this alone." Dell grunted as he acknowledged the Helldiver Major standing over him.

"Must say, I'm quite impressed with it myself. Certainly more fun than that Mako rover." said Austin. "What exactly are you doing?"

"Just making sure it's in the best of conditions. And as you've probably noticed, Sill's taking off the Cerberus logos. Don't want their symbol on our vehicle, even if it was theirs." Dell replied.

"Is that hard at all?" Austin asked.

"Try to remember who you're talking to, Shepard. I helped build the Helldivers. This is easy compared to that. In fact, many engineers could learn a lot from the simple systems I've adopted... OW!" Dell shouted. He'd cut his finger on a sharp piece of metal.

"You alright?" Austin asked concernedly.

"Fine. Fine. Just a scratch!" Dell said. "Shit! That hurt." he cursed under his breath.

"I can come back if you're busy." said Austin.

"No, it's fine. I've been meaning to talk you anyway. Something I need to ask." said Dell as he slid out from under the Hammerhead.

"Sill, would you mind taking over for me for a bit? I need to talk with Shepard." he asked.

"Sure thing, Dad." said Sill as she stopped her original job and walked over to where Dell had been. "Shepard." she acknowledged.

"So, you have something to ask of me?" Austin inquired.

"Yes, now that you're here though, I'm not sure how I can begin." said Dell.

"Just take your time if you're finding this hard." said Austin reassuringly.

"Okay. Here goes." said Dell as he took a deep breath. "You remember Sill's mother? My wife, Uthenra?"

"Yes. What about her?" Austin replied.

Dell gave a small sigh before replying. "It'll be our wedding anniversary soon, you see. She knows that I and Sill are currently serving with you and that we can't come home. So she suggested that she come on board the Normandy instead. At first I didn't like the idea seeing as how dangerous it might be, but all this has started to get me thinking. I have confidence that we will survive our mission to defeat the Collectors, but a part of me still knows there's the possibility we might not." he said.

"I promise you, Dell, we'll destroy the Collectors, and we'll have a tale or two to tell when we come back." said Austin confidently.

"I do admire your confidence, Shepard. You share Zartrack's bravery. But still, the future is unpredictable, and I promised my wife that I would at least ask you this. With your permission, I would like for Uthenra to come aboard the Normandy just for the day. It might help keep my spirits up, so to speak." said Dell. At the same time, the Arkane engineer bandaged up the deep cut on his finger.

"I suppose I can understand how you feel." said Austin as he thought long and hard about this choice. As long as it was just for one day, there wouldn't really be any problem. Besides, the entire crew was trained to handle some of the worst. Also, if he and Sarah where in Sill's position, they too would want to see their mother again before heading through hell and back.

"Tell her that she's more than welcome to come aboard if she wants. As long as it's only for one day, I'm sure there'll be no problem at all." he said.

Dell was lost for words at the Major's response. He'd had confidence that Austin would understand, but he'd mostly assumed it would be a long shot.

"I... thank you so much, Major. I cannot thank you enough." he said, gratefully.

Austin simply smiled and patted Dell reassuringly on the shoulder. "I'll look forward to meeting her." he said.

* * *

The next day, Liara managed to finish her decryption of the Prothean data and now had the location of a dig site. The planet that the Prothean site was located on; Kopis in the Hoplos system of the Hades Nexus cluster was also the last known location of Dr Cayce, one of the scientists who'd been testing the Hammerhead.

Liara of course had practically begged to be brought on the mission and had even attempted to bribe Austin with a full on strip show, and a tittyfuck. While Austin had loved this, Liara hadn't really needed to make the effort. He'd been planning on taking her anyway since she was their Prothean expert. Since he'd already got that sorted out, Austin now just had to decide who else to take. Of course it wasn't compulsory that Austin had to take a full team. It could just be him and Liara, but still, they didn't know what they'd find. Eventually, Austin decided to take Samara and Sarah with him.

The Hammerhead hummed into life as the Normandy's cargo bay doors opened. Dell and Sill had now finished their work on upgrading, refitting and repainting the vehicle. Instead of being white with yellow and black Cerberus markings, the Hammerhead was now grey with black makings. It even had the traditional Helldiver logo on it and few extra armour additions.

Austin activated the thrusters as the Hammerhead fell in order to slow the landing, and soon they were hovering just above the ground. Ahead of them, was the ruins. However there was an obstacle in the way. There was a massive kinetic barrier covering the entire dig site.

" _Kinetic barrier detected. Kinetic barrier strength beyond conventional weapon capability. Recommend disabling power sources."_ said the VI.

The power sources weren't difficult to find since there where blue lines heading away from the kinetic barrier. The real difficult parts where that the dig site was guarded by an awful lot of rocket drones where buried all over the place. Austin quickly took evasive maneuvers to avoid the fire and quickly returned fire on the drones. Despite the drones increased drone numbers though, the Hammerhead soon found the first of the kinetic barrier's generators.

" _Kinetic barrier strength reduced."_ said the VI.

Austin quickly did the same to all the others, as well as destroying more of the rocket drones. The kinetic barrier was down very quickly.

" _Kinetic barrier deactivated. Path is clear."_

* * *

Austin set the Hammerhead down inside the main area. The rest of the way into the dig site was too small for the vehicle to fit, so the team continued the rest of the way on foot.

To say that Liara speechless by the sheer sight alone of these Prothean ruins would definitely be an understatement. The Asari was acting exactly the same as she had done when they'd first set foot on Ilos 3 years ago.

"Goddess, this is amazing. The architecture is just..." she said as she tried to think of a suitable word to describe the sights that where greeting her eyes.

"This isn't secretly Ilos, is it? It feels like it." said Sarah.

"Let's try and remain focused people. We'll have to time to study the ruins better once we find what we came here for." said Austin.

Liara reluctantly followed, but she did make a note of everything she saw. Soon, the team found an audio log. It was from Dr Cayce.

 _"Dr O'Loy must have been indoctrinated by the Reapers. I found him sending our data to a Geth ship. I won't be responsible for another Geth attack, another Eden Prime. I've silenced O'Loy... forever."_ it said.

"Sounds to me like he was having a nervous breakdown." said Sarah.

"Fear can make people do a lot of things, both bad and good." said Austin.

The team proceeded further through the ruins. Soon, they could see signs of a battle. There were several dead bodies of Blue Suns mercs and even Cerberus soldiers and scientists. They soon found another audio log. In the distance, they could see some sort of large stone barrier. It looked as though it was protecting something.

 _"It's too late for me. They're still in my head, stealing my thoughts. I can't keep them out. I've got no choice but to destroy this relic and myself."_ said the audio log. Once again, it was Dr Cayce.

Austin activated a nearby console and the stone barriers retracted into the ground, revealing the Prothean artefact that they had come for. Surprisingly, it was some sort of large silvery sphere, a mysterious, but at the same time rather beautiful sight.

"By the Goddess! This is incredible!" said Liara, barely managing to contain her sheer excitement.

"What exactly is it?" Austin asked as they approached the sphere. It was emitting a low and gentle humming sound as they got closer.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen a Prothean artefact like this before." Liara replied.

"Whatever it is, it is quite beautiful." said Samara.

Austin decided to take risk and stepped closer to the artefact.

"Austin, wait..." Liara said. Before she could finish though, Austin touched the artefact.

The sphere seemed to ripple slightly from his touch and then started vibrating. Everyone immediately stepped back.

"That was your fault." said Sarah quickly.

There was a bright light for a second and everyone was briefly blinded. When it cleared, it appeared at first as if the artefact was, gone. However, once their sight readjusted, they saw that the artefact was still there, but had shrunk. The now very small sphere fell to the ground and landed with a very loud clang.

"Okay... what just happened?" said Austin.

"I wish I had answers for you, love." said Liara as they once again walked up to the sphere. Nothing happened this time.

* * *

For now, Austin had placed the orb in his and Liara's quarters. Liara had said that it was a very nice decoration and that she would study it next time she had some free time. She'd even rewarded Austin for taking her with him, by saying that she was planning on returning the favour by getting him a surprise present in return. Austin thought at first that it would simply be a sexy one, but Liara did make it sound as if that wouldn't necessarily be the case.

As Austin sat admiring the orb, his private terminal bleeped. He accessed it to find a message. No doubt it was about what had happened down there. To his surprise, the message was a from a very familiar face.

_It has been a while, Shepard. The Council have told me how well you've been doing so far. I'm very proud by your progress. Good work also with finding the Prothean ruins._

_The burst of energy that coincided with your retrieval of the Prothean artefact contained coded information. Most of the data was beyond our ability to track, but the threads we were able to decrypt have provided new avenues for research on energy transfer and biotics. It will keep the scientists busy for a while for years._

_The data indicates that the artefact is currently inert and not dangerous. So, as a suggestion, you could give it to Liara as a present. I know she'd love it. I hope your relationship with her is also good. In my experience, it's always good to have something to not only fight for, but to come back to._

_On the subject of the artefact though, so of our scientists have wondered, that if Cayce had more time, would he have unlocked its secrets? They will continue his research. We'll make sure also to keep Cerberus away. Last thing we want is them snooping around after they nearly got you killed._

_Good luck out there, Shepard. Give them hell!_

_Your friend and mentor_

_General Alkatraan Zartrack_

Austin finished reading and looked back at the orb on his table. He touched it again briefly and it rippled. A nice little souvenir, if he did say so himself.

At that moment, EDI's avatar then appeared behind him.

"Yes EDI?" Austin acknowledged.

"Miss Lawson would like to speak with you in her office, Shepard." said the AI.

"Miranda? What the hell does she want?" Austin asked, a bit surprised that Miranda would want to talk with him. He and the ex-Cerberus operative still weren't on the best of terms. "If she's had another argument with Alaara again, I'm throwing her in the holding cells." he mumbled to himself. He then turned back to EDI. "Tell her I'm on my way."

"Of course, Shepard." said EDI.

The AI vanished and Austin steppe into the elevator. He sincerely hoped that Miranda wasn't planning on trying to argue with him about something.

* * *

Dash simply stood, gazing at the several Cerberus troopers surrounding him.

This wasn't real of course. It was just the simulation that Dash and Jack had created after they'd decided to have a contest with one another to try and prove who the faster fighter was and who could get more points.

"Alright. You'll all have to ask yourselves one question. Do I feel lucky?" "Well… do ya… punks?!" the scout taunted as he looked around at his enemies.

The troopers remained unfazed by this though and simply continued circling the Helldiver scout.

"Come on, let's dance." said Dash.

The Cerberus troopers aimed their weapons, but Dash immediately went for his dual pistols and aimed at the trooper's feet.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" he shouted with each shot. "BANG!"

Another shot went into another trooper's knee. The troopers that had been shot hopped about on one leg clutching their injured feet. Some even fell over, clutching their injuries. Dash hadn't managed to shoot all of them though and they immediately opened fire on the scout.

Dash however simply ran an all the bullet's missed him.

Dash was already fast because his armour was much lighter than the others, but also because it was fitted with loads of speed enhancers. So now, Dash was able to run at nearly 60 mph. He was that fast. Dash also did an awful lot of exercises and did at least 3 hours a day on a running machine to keep him fit. Doing this for so long had allowed him to run for long periods of time without having to stop for breath or consume water.

"Feel the speed! THE SPEEEEEED!" Dash yelled as he practically ran circles around the other troopers.

The two troopers looked around wildly, and fired at Dash, but he was too fast for them. Within seconds even, Dash had already tripped up one of them and he threw the trooper over the edge of the tall building he was fighting on.

The other trooper tried to run but Dash stopped him with seconds. The scout hopped onto the trooper and aimed both his pistols at the trooper's neck.

"Open wide!"

Dash fired and the trooper's head exploded, causing blood to spill all over the place.

Before Dash could savour this victory however, more gunshots whizzed past his head. In all the excitement he seemed to have forgotten about the last three enemies in this simulation, the Centurions.

Dash however didn't worry and simply ran again. This time though, he slid right under one of the Centurion and straight between his legs, both dual guns blazing right at the Centurion's crotch.

"Sweeet!"

The Centurion screamed in pain and fell to his knees, clutching his injury. This was only brief though before Dash sliced his head off with his elbow blade. The Scout then simply aimed his gun as another Centurion ran at him. The Centurion stopped as he found the gun be pointed right at his face at point blank range.

"Oh Fu…"

Dash fired and the bullet blew a large, bloodied, hole in the Centurion's helmet.

"Hmm, I just invented a new colour. It's called hint of brain." Dash chuckled.

Only one was left now. This one was a fair distance away, but Dash would be at him before he could blink. Dash could just shoot him, but he always liked to show off. He may as well end the simulation in style.

Dash ran at the Centurion who fired at him blindly as he backed away in fright. Dash jumped and punched the Centurion, causing him to lose his balance and fall over the edge.

"Wooohoooo! Best - ride - ever!" Dash yelled with joy in between punches. He was on top of the Centurion as they both fell. The Centurion quickly realized that with him below, the fall would kill him and he attempted to struggle. Dash's constant punches however kept him at bay.

There was massive explosion of dirt, rubble and concrete as the Centurion and Helldiver hit the ground. The dust eventually cleared and Dash clambered off the now bloodied and broken dead body of the Centurion.

"You just got owned, Cerberus. Suck it, Illusive Man!" he said.

" _Simulation complete. You achieved an increase of 25% in speed on that round, Mr Torres."_ said EDI.

The environment around Dash quickly started dissolving into loads of tiny holographic cubes and was quickly replaced by the real environment of the Normandy's cargo bay. Jack was stood just a metre or so away from the simulator pad. She looked a bit cross due to the fact that Dash was within a shot at beating her score.

" _The final score, is Jack: 2581, Dash: 3000"_ said EDI.

"Fuck!" Jack swore.

"Yes!" Dash cheered. "So, still wanna see who's better?"

"You've certainly got a mouth on you, Dash. And you are funny, I'll give you that." said Jack. Despite losing, she didn't look as though she was going to lose her temper. In fact, she was doing very well since she often used to simulator daily to either de stress or just work off some steam. Now she didn't really see the need to take her anger out on real things. Not to mention to the fact that she was slowly growing comfortable serving on the Normandy.

"They don't call me the Helldiver with a mouth for nothing, Jack. Besides, a lot them are so boring. No sense of humour… apart from my team of course." said Dash smugly.

"We should do this again sometime." said Jack.

"Why? So you can lose again? No one's ever managed to outrun me. My speed is rivalled only by the lightning." said Dash.

"Maybe that should've been your name." Jack joked.

"In your dreams, thunder." Dash retaliated.

"Huh, big mouth and a smartass. You're not so bad, Dash." Jack smiled, not only was impressed with Dash's clever humour, she was also impressed that he was brave enough to say things like that to her without worrying about pissing her off.

"Is that a compliment I hear, Jack?" Dash asked jokingly.

"Fuck you!" said Jack as she left the cargo bay.

"I thought so." said Dash as he folded his arms.

There was then a sudden movement from behind Dell's desk and both he and Sill slowly came out of hiding.

"Is she gone now?" Dell asked, nervously.

* * *

**Sorry if the Hammerhead missions where rather short, but it is basically the same objective of gathering data and destroying pylons. Not much variety you can write about that I'm afraid.**

**So, as you should know, Miranda's loyalty mission is next. Lately a few reviews have said I've been portraying Miranda as being a bit weak. Well, that should hopefully change after her mission. After that, she will start to change and she will start to get along with everyone.**

**See you next time!**


	24. Chapter 24, The Prodigal

**Hello again, my friends!**

**Very little I can say about this, so I'll just say, enjoy!**

**For those who feel I have been neglecting Miranda for a while in this story will hopefully agree that this chapter is the start of her character improvements.**

* * *

**Chapter 24**

**The Prodigal**

Austin proceeded into Miranda's quarters. The Ex-Cerberus operative immediately took notice of him. Austin wasn't sure if he was correct, but something about Miranda seemed different this time.

"Lawson. EDI said you wanted to see me. What's this about?" he asked.

"Shepard, I find myself in the unpleasant position of asking for your help." Said Miranda. Rather surprisingly, he voice had emotion in it. Even a hint of nervousness. This was very unlike her.

"What do you mean? Is something wrong?" Austin asked sympathetically.

"I don't like discussing personal matters… but this is important." Said Miranda.

"It's okay, I'm listening. Just tell me what you need." Said Austin calmly.

"My father was extremely wealthy. He wanted the ideal daughter, and he paid a great deal to genetically tailor me. When I learned that my father was more interested in controlling a dynasty than raising a daughter, I left." Said Miranda.

"How did your father take that?" Austin asked.

"He was less than pleased. Several of his security guards were injured in the process. He knows not to come after me. But this isn't about me…" Miranda replied.

"I'm still not sure I fully understand though. You where genetically created?" Austin implied.

"It's a long story, Shepard. I'll gladly explain everything to you, but right now this has to be dealt with." said Miranda as she stood up from her desk and walked in front of Austin. "I have a sister. A twin. And he's still hunting her. Cerberus has kept her safe, but now that I no longer work for them, that's stopped. She's living a normal life on Illium, safe and hidden from my father." She said.

"So, why are you sharing the family history with me?" Austin asked.

"My father's agents have been searching for my sister for years. I believe they've tracked her to Ilium. I've tried to keep her hidden, without impacting her life, but I'm out of options. Not to mention that my father has most likely convinced Cerberus to hand her over now that I've defected to your side." Said Miranda. She then leant against her desk.

Austin had to do his best not to stare at Miranda's behind that was sticking out, despite her new armour outfit.

"They're too close. I need to relocate my sister and her family before it's too late." She said.

"What do you know about your sister?" Austin asked.

"She's my genetic twin. We're identical. But she deserves a normal life. And she's going to get it, no matter what." Miranda replied sternly.

"Does your sister's family know about this? Are they okay with being relocated?" Austin asked.

"They know nothing. They're completely uninvolved. Normal. Since Cerberus will no longer look after the family, I've told the Arkane Council. I didn't think they'd help me at first, but they've agreed and are coming up with a positive reason to move the family. They've even said that they'll handle her security from now on. I never thought I'd say this, but I think I can actually trust them." Said Miranda.

"You'll find that both the Arkanes and we Helldivers aren't what Cerberus leads you to believe. Anyway, what do you need me to do? If it was that simple, I doubt you'd be telling me." said Austin.

"My father is extremely persistent. I'd like to go to Illium when the Helldivers are moving the family to make sure none of his agents get too close. I would do it alone, but if the worst comes to pass… basically, I want you to come too. I know you may still not like me, and I know you're squad don't trust me either, but you're the only person I can trust now. You spared my life and Jacob's; I guess I owe you my trust." Said Miranda.

"I appreciate you telling me that. If that is what you wish, I won't disappoint. I've been meaning to go back to Ilium anyway." Said Austin.

"Thank you, Shepard. I appreciate you doing this. My contact's name is Lanteia. She'll be waiting for us in the lounge near the Nos Astra docking bay." Said Miranda.

* * *

Austin, Sarah, Miranda and Samara disembarked from the Normandy onto Nos Astra's docking bay once again. Austin comlink bleeped and EDI's holographic avatar once again appeared out of his omni tool as she often did when contacting him and the others.

" _I have a message for Ms Lawson, Shepard. Lanteia has reserved a room at Eternity and will be waiting."_ She said.

"Thank you, EDI." Said Miranda.

The group made their way to Eternity. Just before they entered the bar though, an Asari shouted at them.

"Hey, you! Yeah, you! You! Shepard!" she said angrily. She then walked right to Austin and went to punch him in the face.

"Don't…" Austin went to say, but he didn't say it fast enough.

The Asari's fist hit his helmet with a very loud clang. Naturally of course, the punch didn't hurt at all and Austin didn't' feel a thing. All it did was knock his head to the side very slightly. The Asari on the other hand was not so lucky and she clutched her hand in pain.

"OW! FUCK, MY HAND! THINK I BROKE MY HAND!" she yelled.

"I did try to warn you. Now what the hell did you try to do that for?! I don't even know you!" said Austin.

"Like you don't know? Your friend came into my bar, harassed my people, and tried to get the deed to this place! That crap might fly on Omega, but Ilium has laws! I've got security feeds all over my bar!" said the Asari crossly as she slowly tried to mover her fingers again. Her hand wasn't broken, but she was still in extreme pain.

"My people are on my ship! He's obviously just some person trying to show off. Besides, if he's causing trouble just kick him out!" said Austin defiantly.

"I'm about to. And I suppose that's true, but I'm warning you right now. If you or your group bothers my people again, I'll have you arrested so fast you'll red shift on your way to the prison transport!" said the Asari.

"And if you try to hit my brother again, I'll hit you just as hard!" said Sarah defensively.

"Whatever!" said the Asari as she walked off.

"Wow. She was a bitch." Said Sarah.

"Still, if this so called person is causing trouble in your name, we should check out this bar, Shepard." Said Samara.

"I couldn't agree more. I'd hate to have to explain why that Asari broke her hand from trying to hit me again, or why Sarah gave her a black eye." Said Austin.

"What can I say? No one hits my brother and gets away with it." Sarah shrugged.

"We'll take care of your sister as soon as we've dealt with this, Miranda. I promise. Austin said to Miranda.

Miranda simply nodded in acknowledgement and the group proceeded into the bar. Things looked fine at first, but then they saw who was causing the trouble.

"I'm Commander Shepard's squad mate! Practically second-in-command! You don't want to mess with me!" he said to the Asari bartender. She didn't look afraid of him, in fact she seemed bored.

"Uh-huh." She said, obviously not caring what this man was saying.

"I'm going to save the galaxy! I don't have time for your crap!" he said again.

"Uh-huh." The bartender repeated.

"Oh no." Austin groaned. "Not him again."

He recognized this man now. Even though he was now wearing a set of N7 armour, he was still recognizable as Austin's old fan.

"That's right! Anybody messing with me will answer to my good friend-" he said, he then turned and saw Austin. "Commander Shepard?"

"Hey, if you know this idiot, can you rein him in before I slap his ass with a singularity?" said the bartender.

"Shepard? Is it really you? It's me, Conrad Verner! We met on the Citadel? I wanted to become a spectre?" said Conrad.

"Yes, I remember you." Said Austin coldly. Conrad had been okay to chat to the first two times, but after the third and now this, it was now getting ridiculous.

"You're alive! Oh, this is the happiest day of my life!" said Conrad happily.

"Is it really, Verner?" said Sarah as she came out from behind her brother.

"You? But…" Conrad stuttered.

"Let me make this perfectly clear." Said Sarah as she grabbed Conrad and then kneed him very hard in the stomach. "This is unacceptable."

Conrad slowly got back up, now clutching his stomach and trying to breathe again.

"Ha! Kick 'em in the quad!" the bartender cheered.

"What?!" said Austin, rather surprised that an Asari would say something like that. In fact, that sort of comment sounded more like the sort of thing a Krogan would say.

"Sorry. My father was a Krogan." She said.

That explained it.

"Man, I should've gotten better armour. That really hurts." Conrad wheezed.

"That's for trying to flirt with me 2 years ago, Conrad! You're just lucky my brother's here or I'd have shot you in the foot!" said Sarah crossly.

Austin was rather lost for words at this. He'd never seen Sarah this angry before.

"Get angry if you want, Sarah. But somebody had to do something. Your brother was dead, I stepped up." Said Conrad defensively.

"You've been insulting his memory!" Sarah nearly shouted.

"Sarah, enough! Let me handle this." Said Austin sternly as he put his hand on the N7 marine's shoulder. Sarah reluctantly stepped back. "You tried to flirt with her?"

"Okay, okay, I had that coming. I'm sorry. But I'm so happy to see you; I don't even mind that she hit me. Carrying on the work you started has been so hard, but I've tried to do what you would've wanted." Said Conrad, his mood brightened now that he was talking to his hero again.

"In Alliance armour? You're such an idiot. Speaking of which, how'd you get that armour? They stopped making that model a year ago." Sarah asked.

"Oh, they make some pretty convincing replicas these days, if you're willing to pay. I did try to get some Helldiver amour made, but it was simply impossible. So I felt instead that N7 armour would be the next closest thing. Getting the whole get up was really expensive, but my wife was really supportive. She even paid for my shuttle fair off world!" said Conrad.

Behind them, the Asari bartender groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Give me strength." Austin mumbled under his breath. Even he could clearly see that Conrad's wife had obviously done that in order to get rid of him. Mind you, he couldn't' say that he blamed her.

"Conrad, any decent security system will detect that you aren't in the military much less part of my squad. Impersonation will only get you killed." Said Austin.

"I just say that I'm deep-cover, don't appear on systems, and don't wear Helldiver armour. I'm doing the best I can, okay? You were a hero. You saved the galaxy and showed everyone what humanity and the Helldivers could do… and then you died! The galaxy needed someone like you, Shepard. We all did. I had to do something." Said Conrad.

"Why were you trying to get the deed to this place?" Austin asked.

"This place is actually a front for a red sand dealer. I need to take it over to crack the ring!" Conrad replied, lowering his voice a bit.

"What? Who the hell told you that?" said the bartender.

"The owner of that weapons store near the carport! She's an undercover cop! She told me about it when I introduced myself." Conrad replied.

"Listen, crap-for-brains: first, we don't sell red sand. Second, red sand is legal on Illium! You just need a license." Said the bartender. It really did sound as though she'd had enough of Conrad now. Last thing Austin wanted was for things to get nasty.

"I'll talk to this undercover cop and figure out what's going on." He said.

"Thank you. If I kill annoying customers, it usually causes property damage. That comes out of my pay." Said the bartender.

"Just let me know if you need any help, Shepard!" said Conrad.

He walked off and sat at a nearby table. Everyone watched him go before the Asari bartender turned back to Austin.

"Thanks for taking care of that crazy guy. Saves me having to beat him to death with his own spine. Takes the other customers nervous." she said. "Anyway, this is Eternity, and I'm Aethyta, Asari Matriarch and bartender. Get you anything?"

"You're an Asari Matriarch? I thought Matriarchs served as honoured advisors." Austin asked with surprise. He'd guessed the Asari was old, but he would never have guessed she was that old.

"Right. Which I do at this bar. I know, not what you'd expect. But nobody on Thessia wanted to listen to my wise counsel, so here I am. My dad was a Krogan who fought in the Rachni Wars. My mother fought in the Krogan Rebellions. I've pretty much seen it all." Said Aethyta.

"Your mother fought in the Krogan Rebellions?" Austin asked.

"I don't know whether she "fought." She scouted, sniped a few people, and blew up a couple of space stations. You know, Commando stuff. She'd put the old commando leathers on for special nights with Dad. Goddess, that was embarrassing." Said Aethyta.

"You said your father fought in the Rachni Wars?" Austin inquired. He didn't know why, but it was interesting to hear this Matriarch's story.

"Yeah, when he was young. Loved showing off his war scars. Krogan think they're sexy. Me, I go for asses. When I was a girl, he'd tell me about landing on this poison-filled world and stomping a Rachni queen into muck. The scientists say all that stuff about us getting genetic material from the father is crap. Seems I got a bit of his mouth, though." Said Aethyta.

"If your mother fought in the Rebellions and your father was a Krogan, didn't that cause tension?" Austin asked.

"They didn't meet until a few hundred years after the Turians put the boot in with the damn Genophage. As far as either one knew, they were both just warriors. Dad boasted, Mom stayed quiet. Mom was a Matriarch herself, and Dad was near-on a thousand, when the truth came out." Said Aethyta.

"What happened when he did find out?" Austin asked.

"I was about a hundred, shaking my ass in some sleazy bar. They got me on the link, told me that they were going to have it out, and made me promise to love whichever one survived. Turned out to be damn easy, since neither on did. Family, huh? What a kick in the quad." Said Aethyta.

"Why is a Matriarch in a bar serving drinks?" Austin asked.

"It's better than what most other Matriarchs are doing. Look at that screw-up with Saren and his Geth a few years back! Their ships were hanging bare-assed in space when Saren started shooting. If not for you Helldivers, we would've bought it right there. And I warned them! Told people on Thessia what was coming, and they didn't want to hear it." Said Aethyta.

"What didn't they want to hear?" Austin asked.

"That art and philosophy and political prowess wasn't going to cut it. We can't go a single Asari lifetime without some big war breaking out. We need to get our daughters working earlier, not spending their wild maiden years stripping or in merc bands. When I started talking about making new Mass Relays ourselves, they laughed the blue off my ass. So now I serve drinks." Said Aethyta.

"Thanks for telling me about that." Said Austin.

"That's what I'm here for, babe. Get you anything else?" said Aethyta.

"No thanks. I'm fine." Said Austin.

"Right. Don't eat the nuts in the red bowls. They're for Turians and Quarians. You'll get cramps." Said Aethyta.

* * *

The team made their way to the weapons kiosk that Conrad had mentioned. The merchant was an Asari.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked.

"I talked to an old friend, Conrad Verner. You told him that the Eternity lounge was selling red sand." Said Austin.

"Oh, you're Conrad's friend. Yes, that place is really dangerous. I should know. I'm an undercover cop. Did you get me the deed to the bar? I need the deed to, uh, stop the red sand dealers." Said the merchant.

"That bar doesn't have any red sand dealers! What are you trying to pull!" said Austin. Unlike Conrad, he knew a lie when he saw it. All that Helldiver training he'd used for over 14 years wasn't going to waste now.

"Oh. So you're not as dumb as your friend. Well, it was worth a shot. I'll be going now. And lest you get angry, you should know that this whole place is under video surveillance. Mandatory for weapons sales." Said the merchant.

"You think you can threaten another business and get away with it?" said Austin.

"I didn't threaten anybody. Your human friend did. It's not my fault if he misunderstood me when I talked about red sand dealers. And my surveillance cams had an unfortunate malfunction while I told him about the situation." Said the Asari slyly.

"Now that we all know where we stand, why don't you go take over your new bar? They're ready to hand over the deed." Said Austin.

"You expect me to believe that you're going to help me?" said the merchant suspiciously.

"Why wouldn't I? You get what you want, and I get a nice discount, right? Good business for everyone." Said Austin. He had to admit this was a cleaver plan he'd managed to think up.

"For a human, you're pretty smart. So what do we do now?" the Asari asked.

"Go in, be tough. They'll hand the deed right over." Said Austin.

"Well… great. Here, I'll set you up for a discount. Thanks for the help." Said the merchant as she gave Austin a discount and then left for the bar.

Once she was out of earshot, Sarah spoke up.

"Devious, brother. Very devious." She said.

"I am glad though that you are bringing her to justice." Said Samara.

"Exactly. When she arrives at that bar, she'll be in prison before she can say Goddess." Said Austin.

* * *

Sure enough, as soon as they entered the bar again, there was the merchant being interrogated by a security guard and the bar's owner who had tried to punch Austin earlier.

"Damn it! This is just a misunderstanding!" she said.

"Tell it to the judge. My surveillance vid caught your extortion attempt from four different angles." Said the bar's owner.

"I was misled! I was told that you had agreed to sell!" said the Asari, trying to prove she was innocent. Naturally of course, she was unsuccessful.

"Take her away, before I have my bartender throw her out." Said the owner.

The security officer marched the merchant away and the bar's owner left too.

Austin and the others walked up to Conrad.

"What happened? The undercover cop from the weapons kiosk just got arrested. He asked.

"She wasn't a cop. She was using you to try to take over this bar." Said Austin.

"What? No! But she said… But she was pretty! And blue! She wanted to get coffee! And she smiled when she said "coffee!" I'm pretty sure it was euphemism! I screwed this up, didn't I? I screw everything up. Damn it! I'm so stupid! Who was I to think I could do what you do?" said Conrad. Who sounded as though he'd just failed to impress a girlfriend.

"You did fine. Thanks for holding the reins while I was gone. It's good to know that someone cared." Said Austin reassuringly.

"Really?" Conrad asked in surprise.

"Really. You did a good job, Conrad. Now please, go home. Let me take it from here." Said Austin.

"Can do, Shepard. And thanks. It's really good to have you back." Conrad smiled as he left.

Now that they'd taken care of that, they could now do what they'd come here to do. Miranda's Asari contact, Lanteia was in a separate room of the club.

"Ms Lawson, I'm glad you made it. We've had a complication." She said.

"What happened? Is Oriana alright?" Miranda asked in worry.

"She's fine. But… you listed a man named Niket as your trusted source? He contacted me, warning that your father has sent Eclipse mercenaries to make a sweep. He suggested that the mercs might be watching for you personally. He's offered to escort Oriana's family to the terminal instead." Lanteia explained.

"You didn't mention anything about Niket." Said Austin.

"He's a friend. He and I go back a long way…" said Miranda.

"Do you want to bring in any of your other Illium contacts, Ms Lawson?" Lanteia asked.

"No. You and Niket are the only two I trust on this." Said Miranda.

"It's your sister, Miranda. What do you want to do?" Austin asked.

"Lanteia, we'll follow Niket's suggestion. Shepard and I will take the car and draw their attention. Have Niket escort the family to the shuttle. Give him full access to the family's itinerary, just to be safe." Said Miranda.

"Understood, Ms Lawson." Lanteia acknowledged.

"So the plan is for us to get shot down by Eclipse while your sister gets to safety?" Austin asked.

"Eclipse will be under orders to take my sister alive. They won't risk anything that could kill us." Said Miranda.

"I doubt Eclipse will send all their people just to stop you. Do you want to give Niket any backup?" Austin asked.

"Niket can take care of himself. Besides, any armed backup just draws attention to him." Miranda replied.

"I'm ready whenever you are, Miranda." Said Austin.

"Thank you, Shepard. I appreciate this. I hadn't planned on Eclipse… but they never planned on you." Miranda smiled.

* * *

They took a hover car to the cargo terminal of the spaceport. Most likely that was where the Eclipse mercenaries would start. Austin had swapped Sarah for Jack for this mission. They'd most likely need her biotics for this.

"Damn it!" said Miranda as she noticed something.

Austin looked out of the window and saw what Miranda had.

"Eclipse mercenary gunships. They'll be dropping troopers in the cargo areas."

Sure enough, two gunships flew down into the cargo areas and started to deploy their troops.

"Put us down in that cover behind them." Said Austin.

"Let's hope they really do want to take us alive." Said Miranda as she steered the car towards them. The Eclipse mercs saw them and opened fire on the car.

As they did however, the merc leader noticed Miranda.

"Hold fire. I said hold fire, damn it!" he ordered.

The mercs stopped firing and the car crashed where Miranda had intended for it to crash. Everyone immediately got out.

"I got this." Said the merc leader as the other Eclipse mercs readied their weapons for a fight.

"Since you're not firing yet, I trust you know who I am." Said Miranda.

"Yeah. They said you'd be in the car. You're the bitch that kidnapped our boss' little girl." Said the leader.

"Kidnapped? This doesn't involve you. I suggest you take your men and go." Said Miranda defiantly.

"Think you've got it all line up, huh? Captain Enyala's already moving in on the kid. She knows about Niket. He won't be helping you." Said leader.

"What do you mean, Niket won't be helping us?" Austin asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about. Nobody's going to get killed unless you do something stupid. You walk away now, the girl goes back to her father, and everybody's happy." Said the leader.

"Everybody but my sister… and me." Said Miranda.

"I'm only gonna say this once Eclipse. Get lost now! You're not getting Miranda's sister. If you push this, it'll go badly for you." Austin ordered.

Of course the merc leader wasn't intimidated by this and simply folded his arms.

"Captain Enyala ordered us to give you one chance to walk away. But this whole time we've been talking, my men have been lining up shots."

Sur enough, Austin could see some more mercs further away. Austin looked at Miranda, she saw it too. A large tank of fuel was being moved overhead. A few well-placed shots could unleash hell on them.

"When I say the word, we unleash hell on your squad. So I suggest you walk away nicely, unless you want…"

But before he could finish, Austin grabbed his neck and twisted it violently. His neck broke instantly.

"Shut up!"

Both Miranda and Jack fired on the other mercs while Austin activated his plasma cannon and he fired at the tank.

It took a few shots, but the tank was quickly dislodged from the crane that was carrying it and it exploded as it hit the ground.

"Come on! We need to get to Niket!" said Miranda.

The team quickly made their way over to a nearby elevator that could take them to the next part of the cargo terminal. As Austin opened the door, he suddenly heard a voice coming from a nearby radio that one of the mercs had dropped.

" _Team four, do you read? Team four!"_ it said.

Miranda walked over to the radio and bent down to pick it up. Once again, Austin had to avert his gaze so that he wasn't staring at Miranda's ass.

"Hang on. I've got one of their radios. I'll patch us in; see if I can get an idea what we're up against. Shepard… I think I owe you an explanation. Oriana is my twin, genetically. But my father… grew her when I was a teenager. She was meant to replace me. I couldn't let my father do to her what he did to me. So I rescued her. She's almost a woman now." She said.

"Why didn't you tell me we were saving a kid?" Austin asked.

"She's not a child; she'll be 19 this year. But… well, it didn't seem relevant at the time, I suppose." Said Miranda. "There are people who'd use her against me. I'm very protective when it comes to Oriana. I'm sorry I didn't trust you sooner. You deserved to know."

"I can understand choosing to go your own way, but you stole a young child from her father." Said Austin.

"If you knew my father like I did, you would understand. I wasn't the first one he made. I was the first one he kept. I was brought up with no friends, pushed to meet impossible demands. I wasn't a daughter to him. I was… I don't know what I was. Oriana has had a normal life. I made the right decision." Said Miranda.

"If Eclipse knows where Oriana is, they'll be moving in or her soon. We need to hurry." Said Austin as they all proceeded into the elevator.

"Agreed. I'm a bit worried by what the merc said. If they've got to Niket somehow, this is going to be harder than I'd planned. According to the specs I reviewed, we'll need to cut through the cargo processing yard to get to Oriana." Said Miranda.

"I hope your friend can be trusted." Said Austin.

"Absolutely. Niket is one of my oldest friends. I guess you could say he was my only real friend. He's the only person I didn't cut ties with when I left my father." Miranda smiled.

"Is there a chance your father could be using Niket to get to you?" Austin asked.

"I'm sure he's tried, but Niket's one of the few people who understands what my father is really like. I trusted him with my life when I ran from my father, Shepard. He won't betray me now." Said Miranda.

"Let's go find Niket and Oriana." Said Austin.

"Right." Said Miranda.

Austin pressed the button and the elevator began its journey.

* * *

"They're on the far side of the conveyor line. Time your shots!" said Miranda as she saw the Eclipse merc in the distance.

Austin quickly swapped his M-76 Revenant for his M-13 Raptor as he went into cover. He was further away that the others where since he could now easily land shots on them from a distance.

The Eclipse mercs fired upon the group but the consistency of the cargo line bringing in a new crate every few seconds was making it difficult for them.

" _This is Enyala! Keep the bitch back! Niket is nearing the transport terminal!"_ they heard a female voice over the radio as the mercs bombarded them with gunfire. Jack, Samara and Miranda where quick to put their biotics to use and the mercs quickly lost their own.

Austin meanwhile still remained in cover and managed to snipe to more engineers before they deployed their combat drones.

"Right between the eyes." He smiled as he managed to headshot another trooper.

They were clear for now, but no doubt there would be more later on.

Sure enough, more mercs where present in the cargo areas, but it was nothing they couldn't handle. Miranda in particular wasn't letting up. Her sisters safety was at stake after all.

" _Divert everyone expect my guard from Niket. I'll handle him and the kid personally."_ Said Enyala.

"Damn it! I'm not letting her get Oriana!" Miranda shouted as she ran ahead. "We can cut down through the cargo line!"

The team did so and stuck close as they gunned down Eclipse merc after Eclipse merc. It did give Austin the opportunity that to teach the others to use diamond formation, a technique that he and Alpha Squad had perfected over the years. Basically, it was as it sounded. All team members would band together in the shape of a diamond and slowly make their way through the battlefield and shoot. It was very effective. So effective in fact that none of their side had ever been injured or killed doing it.

Having biotics was also rather helpful since they were able to create biotic fields to serve as shields. After nearly several minutes, they reached the elevator that would take them to the final part of the cargo bay. Niket would most likely be there.

" _Eclipse operatives have attempted to delay you by disabling the elevators. I am overriding their lockdown."_ Said EDI.

More Eclipse mercs appeared out of the elevator and started attacking. As usual though, they didn't put up much of a fight that was too tough for them.

" _Niket has reached the terminal. He'll switch the family over to our transport."_ Said Enyala.

"Niket? But… that can't be right…" said Miranda. "Maybe the Captain knows we're listening in and she's feeding misinformation about Niket making a switch." "Or maybe it means something else. Niket wouldn't' do that."

Miranda's irritation grew when she noticed how slow the elevator was being. "Damn it, why won't this thing go any faster?!"

She smashed the control panel and the hologram of the lift started speeding up.

"What makes you so sure that Niket wouldn't turn on you? Not everyone in this galaxy can be as trustworthy as they seem. I of all people should know." Said Austin.

"He could've turned on me when I ran away. I'm sure my father tried to buy him off. If he didn't do it then, why would he do it now?" said Miranda.

"Did Niket know that you took Oriana from your father?" Austin asked.

"No, he just found out about that recently. It was too personal to involve someone else. I never really thought about it, but maybe… no. He'd have to understand why I did it. He knows what I went through." Said Miranda.

"We won't know anything until we find Niket." Said Austin.

"And then I'll have a word with this Captain Enyala." Said Miranda coldly.

* * *

"Listen to me; I've got authorization to change their booking!" said Niket as he argued with the Asari docking administrator.

"I'm sorry, sir. We're under security lockdown. Until the situation in the cargo terminal is resolved, no passengers can be rebooked." Said the Asari.

Sat next to Niket on a crate was Captain Enyala.

"This isn't worth my time, Niket. I get paid regardless of how the girl gets there." She said.

"No! I was told that I could handle this my way. We're not traumatizing the family any more than we -"

But Niket was interrupted when the nearby elevator door opened and Austin, Miranda, Jack and Samara all steeped out.

"Miri."

"This should be fun." Said Enyala as she unholstered her claymore shotgun and pointed it at the group.

The docking administrator ran away in fright, but she didn't get far before she was shot down by Enyala.

"Niket. You sold me out." Said Miranda coldly.

"How do you want to handle this, Miranda?" Austin asked as he and the others unholstered their weapons too.

"Why, Niket? You were my friend. You helped me get away from my father." Said Miranda.

"Yes! Because you wanted to leave. That was your choice! But if I'd known that you'd stolen a baby-" said Niket.

"I didn't steal her! I rescued her!" Miranda interrupted.

"From a life of wealth and happiness? You weren't saving her! You were getting back at your father!" said Niket.

"So, how did Miranda's father turn you? Convince you to stab your own friend in the back?!" Austin asked coldly.

"They told me you'd kidnapped your baby sister all those years ago. They said I could help get her back peacefully. No trauma to the family. I told them you'd never do that. That they could go to hell. Then you finally told me what you'd done. I called them back that night." Said Niket.

"Why didn't you call me, Niket? We've been through a lot. You could've at least let me explain." Said Miranda.

"I deserved to know that you'd stolen your sister, Miri. I deserved to know that you used to be with Cerberus. But I had to hear it from your father first." Niket replied.

"How much did Miranda's father pay you, bastard?" Austin retaliated.

"A great deal." Niket replied.

"Damn it, Niket! You were the only one I trusted from that life." Said Miranda furiously.

"He knew you felt that way. That's why he bought me." Said Niket.

"So you just his money. You're no better than he is." Miranda snarled.

"Don't get holy with me, Miri. You took his money for years." Niket retorted.

"Bastard." Said Austin. "Whether or not you agree with Miranda, Oriana has been with her family for years now."

"Her father can still give her a better life." Said Niket.

"A life she doesn't want. You don't know what my father wants for her." Said Miranda.

"I know I've been poor, Miri. I didn't much care for it."

"He wants to take a girl away from the only family she's ever know! Doesn't that tell you what he really is?"

"It's obvious he's not gonna listen, Miranda." Said Austin.

"I knew Eclipse was willing to get their hands dirty, but kidnapping a kid is below you." Said Samara.

"I'm not stealing her, Justicar. I'm rescuing her. Besides, this doesn't concern you or this Helldiver." Enyala replied. "Come on, Niket. Let's finish this bitch off and get out of here."

"Take your best shot." Miranda taunted.

"I was just waiting for you to finish getting dressed. Or does this Helldiver really let you whore around in that outfit?" Enyala replied back bitterly.

"I like her. Are we still recruiting?" said Jack as she fired a shot at one of the mercs.

"If Niket's working for your father, that means he knows about Oriana. We need to find a new solution." Said Austin.

"Miranda's father has no information about Oriana. I knew you had spy programs in your father's system, Miri, so I kept it private. I'm the only one who knows." Said Niket.

"Which means you're the only loose end. This isn't how I wanted it to end, Niket." Said Miranda as she aimed her gun at Niket. Before she could fire however, Austin grabbed her wrist.

"Miranda, wait! You don't want to do this." He said.

"This has to end here, Shepard. My father will keep trying to find Oriana." Said Miranda.

"Maybe Niket can help… talk to your father. Just say you got here first…" Austin suggested.

"I'll… I'll tell him that you hid her. That I don't know where she is." Said Niket.

"I never want to see you again, Nik-"

But before Miranda could finish, Enyala shot Niket right in the back. At point black range, he died instantly.

"Done. Now if you don't mind, I have a shipment to deliver." She said.

Miranda snapped at that. She activated her biotics and hauled Enyala up into the air.

"You'll die for that, bitch!" she shouted.

She threw a warp at Enyala and the Asari was sent flying. As she landed again however, she got back up, shotgun at the ready.

The whole place became a small war zone of biotics and gunfire as the team battled their way through Enyala's troops.

As the small battle raged, Austin found himself face to face with Enyala. Both opponents aimed at one another and pulled their triggers, but both guns simply clicked. In all the commotion, they'd forgotten to put fresh clips in.

"Shit!" Enyala swore.

"Give it up, Enyala. It's over." Said Austin.

"Nothing's over while I'm still breathing!" Enyala retorted.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Said Austin.

The two opponents charged at one another. Enyala swung at Austin, using the butt of her shotgun as a club. Austin just in time managed to bring his Revenant up in time to block the attack.

This had to be one of Austin's most bizarre fights. Using assault rifles as clubs and clashing with one another. Still, Austin's fencing training and quick reflexes did help in some way. However, the Helldiver didn't count on Enyala using her biotics and her next bioticly charged attack knocked his rifle right out of his hands.

Austin and Enyala wrestled violently with one another before the Asari managed to trip Austin up. Enyala brought the butt of her weapon down but Austin just managed to block it with his wrist.

"I know what you're thinking." Austin groaned as he kept pushing against Enyala. "You're thinking I have to have both my arms to use my weapons.

Enyala's grin of victory was quickly wiped from her face when she saw Austin's shoulder cannon whir into life and it's targeting laser locked onto her forehead.

"Guess again… Captain." Austin smiled sneakily under his helmet.

Enyala only had seconds to realise what was about to happen before the plasma shot right out of the cannon and her whole head completely exploded and an awfully bloody mess. Austin gently pushed the headless body off of him and gently got up. Jack, Miranda and Samara had dealt with the rest of Enyala's troops.

"There could be more Eclipse mercs near the shuttle. I want to make sure Oriana and her family get on safely." Said Miranda.

"I can't believe Niket sold me out. I didn't even see it coming." Said Miranda as they proceeded into another elevator.

"Even with all your upgrades, you're human just like the rest of us." Said Austin reassuringly.

"But I let it get personal… and I screwed up. Why didn't you let me kill him? I could've handled that. But watching him get gunned down by that Asari bitch…" said Miranda.

"You still cared for him, even if he betrayed you." Said Austin.

"You're right. And my father knew it. He used that against me. It's always been like this. My father gave me anything I ever wanted, but there was always a hook, an angle for his long-term plan. I threw away everything he ever gave me when I ran. Except Niket. Weakness on my part." Said Miranda.

"You can't toss aside everything you care about just to be safe." Said Austin.

"It's okay, Shepard. My father hurt me, but he didn't break me. As much as he tried to turn me into exactly what he wanted… I'm my own person." Said Miranda.

"Any other old friends your father might use against you?" Austin asked.

"No. I cut ties with everyone else. And anyone I was close to in Cerberus is the enemy as far as I'm concerned. Only Jacob's left and he now works for you. My father's powerful, but he won't dare cross you and the Arkane Council. He'd be signing his own death sentence." Miranda replied.

"You still have Oriana." Said Austin.

"My father didn't give her to me. I rescued her. But… yes. You're right. I still have something. Thank you." Miranda seemed to smile.

* * *

Soon they were now at the docking bay.

"No sign of Eclipse. It looks like we're clear." Said Miranda.

Then she saw her sister. True to what Miranda had said, she and Oriana where indeed identical. A few small differences though were that Oriana had shorter hair than her sister and Miranda most likely had a more matured body. Oriana was also younger than Miranda was. Considering that she was only 19, this wasn't surprising.

Present with her was her family. Her mother and father.

"There she is. She's safe… with her family." Miranda smiled. At the same time though, she sounded sad. Most likely that was because she'd never met her. "Come on. We should go."

"Don't you even want to say hello?" Austin asked.

"It's not about what I want. It's about what's right for her. The less she knows about me, the better. She's got a family. A life. I'll just complicate that for her." Said Miranda sadly.

At first, Austin felt it best to comply with what Miranda wanted, but at the same time he felt as though Miranda should talk to her. He then also came up with a very good way to encourage Miranda.

"She doesn't need any details, but would it really be so bad for her to know she has a sister who loves her?" he asked, smiling under his helmet as he did so.

"I guess not…" Miranda smiled. She looked like she might cry with joy.

Austin simply smiled. This felt very right to him and he could tell that Samara seemed to feel the same way too since she was also smiling. Jack on the other hand didn't care, but that didn't really matter.

"Go on… We'll wait here." Said Austin.

Miranda nodded and slowly went up to Oriana.

"You have a kind heart, Shepard." Samara smiled as she and Austin watched Miranda talk with her sister.

"Thank you, Samara." Austin smiled.

"Don't start getting soft on us, Shepard." Jack teased.

* * *

Several minutes passed before Miranda finally came back and they proceeded back into the elevator. Oriana watched her sister go, smiling as she did. Miranda also smiled back and Austin was sure he could see Miranda's eyes watering with joy. The door closed and Samara put her hand on Miranda's shoulder.

* * *

Now that Miranda's sister had been taken care of, Austin's till had some business to finish off with Xun. Austin left Miranda, Jack and Samara outside the information broker's office as he walked in. The Chinese Helldiver took notice of her old friend.

"Shepard. Good to see you again." She said as she indicated for Austin to have a seat. Austin did so and sat down.

"Thank you for getting me that system data. Here." Said Xun as she handed Austin a small sum of credits. "I know it's not much, but I'm sure it will help you somehow on your mission. Do you remember the Shadow Broker? With the data you got me, I may be able to find information caches from his agents."

"You're not on the run from the Shadow are you?" Austin asked concernedly.

"Actually, it would be fairer to say that the Shadow Broker is on the run from me. Not long after you died, he started to interfere with a lot of our operations. Eventually, I and the Arkane Council decided we'd had enough. Since then, I've been working to take him down. That whole thing about me improving trade relations is still true, but it mostly serves a cover for my real work. With this data, I'm now one step closer." Xun explained.

"I've never seen you ready to execute someone in cold blood. It sounds like there's more to it than that." Said Austin.

"It's… it concerns Liara as well. She was on a job with a friend a few years ago. The Shadow Broker's people caught them. Her friend unfortunately didn't escape. I don't know if he's dead or being interrogated, but Liara begged em to find him. She owes him her life. And I think even you will agree that the Shadow broker needs to pay for the things he's done. It was he who sold out may of our squads to the Batarians, he was the real one behind the Crime Lords, and now Liara's friend." Said Xun.

"You're right, even if it may sound a bit cold. Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help?" Austin asked.

"Well… perhaps there is. The data you gave me was extremely useful. It's given me a target. The Shadow Broker has several contacts here on Ilium. The most powerful is someone called the Observer." Said Xun.

"Tell me what I can do to help." Said Austin.

"Your data pointed me at logs kept by Shadow Broker agents. The logs were deleted, but it may be possible to reconstruct some of it. The Shadow Broker is cautious. His agents are referred to only by their title and race." Said Xun.

"My inquiries have narrowed the Observer down to one of five operatives: a Turian, a Salarian, a Krogan, a Batarian, and a Vorcha." Said Nyxeris.

"If you can refine the list, I'll know where to strike." Xun finished.

"Do you have any specifics on these agents?" Austin asked.

"I'm afraid not. Nyxeris was lucky to get as much as she did." Xun replied.

"I was happy to help, ma'am." Said Nyxeris as she bowed her head.

"The data is our only hope of determining which one is the Observer. And if we wait too long, they'll all disappear." Said Xun.

"Okay, I'll reconstruct the data and tell you what I find." Said Austin.

"Thank you, Shepard. When you find something, call me on the radio channel we and your squad used in the old days. I can't risk handling this in person." Said Xun.

"I'll talk to you later, Xun." Said Austin as he stood up from his chair.

* * *

Several long minutes later, Austin had searched all five terminals in Illium. However, all the messages he had read had left him confused. All the messages made reference to each operative's gender. However, the Observer was female and the suspects where all male. Xun needed to know about this.

Austin activated his omni tool and Xun's hologram appeared out of it in the same way that EDI often di.

" _Shepard. Did you get any information on the Observer?"_ she asked.

"All five of the suspects are male. The observer is female. Something's not right – who gave you this lead?" Austin replied.

" _My current assistant, Nyxeris. She got the information… Nyxeris gave me the information." "Nyxeris, could I see you in here for a moment? Shepard, I'll talk to you later."_ Said Xun.

* * *

Austin immediately headed back to Xun's office. Unsurprisingly, Nyxeris was no longer at her desk. Austin found Xun in exactly the same position he'd left her as he entered her office.

"Hello again, old friend. Nyxeris had some interesting data hidden away. Thank you, Shepard. I knew I couldn't trust her when she was brought in as a temporary replacement for Oranna, but I wouldn't have her without you." Said Xun as Austin sat back down. "I'm one step closer to the Shadow Broker, thanks to you. Here. Nyxeris was well compensated. You need it more than I do." She said as she handed him some more credits.

"Did you have any trouble with Nyxeris?" Austin asked.

"It's me, remember? She was very talented, though. I imagine that had she been ordered to assassinate me, I'd never have seen her coming. But she counted on me being a biotic. A mistake I'm afraid she now won't be able to learn from." Xun smiled under her helmet.

"So what's the next step in your hunt?" Austin asked.

"Now I gather information, peel away layers of lies, and shine light into the shadows. And when I find the Shadow Broker, I stick my Katana and my fan so far into his body that what's left will fit into a coffee cup." Said Xun.

Austin thought about his next question for a while before he eventually asked. There was something he needed to know.

"Xun… this anger you seem to have can't just be from what you've told me. What else happened between Liara and the Shadow Broker?" he asked.

Xun was silent for a long time before she finally answered with a sigh.

"I suppose you deserve to know the truth. But if I'm going to tell you, call Liara and tell her to come here." She said.

"Why?" Austin asked.

"It would be better if you heard this story from both of us. Just trust me, Shepard." Xun replied.

"Okay, I'll call her." Said Austin as he got up from his chair and went outside where Samara, Miranda and Jack where waiting for him.

"You three, head back to the Normandy. I have something I need to care of myself." He said.

"Of course, Shepard." Said Samara.

Once the three had left, Austin activated his omni tool again, and this time called Liara.

"Liara, can you come to Xun's office? There's something we need to discuss." He said.

"I'll be right there, Austin." Liara replied.

* * *

Liara quickly arrived and walked into the information broker's office. Since this would be a civil talk, everyone retracted their Helldiver helmets.

"Xun." Liara nodded.

"Liara." Xun nodded back.

"Xun's told me about this little skirmish you had with the Shadow Broker not long after I died. About how you lost your friend. She tells me that's why she's hunting the Shadow Broker, but I still feel as though there's more to it. What exactly happened? Is there something you're not telling me?" Austin asked.

Like Xun, Liara sighed and seemed to remain silent for a while before she finally answered.

"I was hoping to avoid this, Austin. I fear you'll not look at me the same way if I tell you." The Asari sighed.

"Liara, I could never hate you. I love you. I promise things will not change between us. Just tell me truth, please. Said Austin reassuringly as he took Liara's chin in his hand.

"Okay." Liara sighed. "Did you ever wonder how Cerberus recovered your body?"

"Your right actually? I have actually been curious. How did they recover it?" Austin asked. Up till now, it hadn't occurred to him how Cerberus had recovered his body while his suit had been in lockdownwith him in a coma.

"I gave it to them." Liara replied.

"What?" said Austin in surprise.

"I gave you to them, Austin. Because they said they could rebuild you. I knew they could not be trusted, and I was already a Helldiver at the time. But if there was the possibility I'd be able to see you again, I could not bring myself to refuse. And so to find your body, I had to take it from the Shadow Broker, who was going to sell your corpse to the Collectors." Liara explained.

"But… why didn't you tell me about this before now?" Austin asked.

"Because I always hated working for the enemy. And I screwed it up, Austin. I barely escaped with my own life. And when I gave you to Cerberus, I told myself I was doing it for you, for a chance to bring you back. If only id' known that you were actually in a coma and not dead, I would've instead taken you to the Helldivers, so you could be kept safe. I knew Cerberus would try to use you for their own business. And I let it happen. Because I couldn't let you go, my love. I… I'm… I'm so sorry." Said Liara. She could no longer contain it now and she started crying.

Austin immediately hugged Liara close to him and allowed her to calm down slightly before he finally looked her in the yes and spoke to her.

"Liara, listen to me. You did the right thing. Cerberus is the enemy, yes. But they still kept me safe. They kept me out of the Collector's hands until I woke up. If you ask me, that's definitely better than being in Collector hands. I wouldn't be here today if you hadn't given me to Cerberus. I don't even care that you worked with them briefly. I would've done the same for you." He said calmly.

"Th… thank you, Austin. I was… afraid you'd hate me." Liara sniffed as she smiled at Austin's soothing, British accented voice.

"When will you ever learn, Liara. I could never hate you. I love you more than anything in this galaxy and I'd do anything for you. And besides, very few would do what you did. That just shows how much you truly loved me. You never gave up, you refused to let me go. So many people would never do that. You want my opinion? You're as much a hero as I am." Austin smiled as he stroked Liara's cheek.

"I love you." Liara smiled.

"I love you too." Austin smiled back.

Both lovers pulled each other into a kiss and failed to let go for several long minutes. Eventually, the two finally separated for air and looked lovingly into each other's eyes.

"So now you know, Shepard. After Liara gave your body to Cerberus, she cut ties with them and just hoped that she'd see you again at some point, even if Cerberus now used you. Sometime later, she came to me and told me everything. She wanted the Shadow Broker to pay. But she couldn't' do it herself since she now had duties as a Helldiver. She still wished to honor you by becoming one of us. And so she pleaded me to find him. I owe you many favours and so I eventually felt that if I refused, I'd be insulting your memory. I agreed and started searching. For a time, I did it in secret. Eventually of course, the Arkane Council and the Helldivers wanted the Shadow Broker taken down too. And so I no longer needed to seraph in secret. So, that's why I must destroy the Shadow Broker. For what he did to Liara's friend, to Liara, and to you, and whatever he's doing with the Collectors." Said Xun.

"Thank you. Thank you both for telling me this. I guess now I understand why you didn't want to tell me. You were afraid of how I'd react." Austin said to both of them.

"Weakness on our part, Austin. I should've told you when we rekindled our love. You deserved to know." Liara sighed.

"What's done is done, Liara. I know now, and that's all that matters. Actually, that's not what matters. What really matters is that I got you back. You gave me everything. A life without you would be worse than death." Said Austin.

"Now you're starting to rub it in, Austin." Liara smiled, her mood now brightening due to Austin's flattery.

"Then stop regretting what you did. You can let it go now." Said Austin.

"You're right. I can now. But I cannot forget what the Shadow Broker dead. He must still pay for what he did." Said Liara.

"That I can understand. In fact I agree with you." Austin smiled as he continued holding Liara in his arms. Both he and Liara however had forgotten that Xun was in the room.

"With all due respect, Shepard. I think it would be better if you two didn't have this conversation in front of me. Go back to the Normandy. Cherish your love for one another." She said.

"Yes, you're right, Xun. Sorry." Said Austin.

"I'll be here if you require any more help from me, my old friend." Xun smiled as she sat back down in her chair.

"Just be careful out there, Xun. Don't turn into the thing you're hunting." Said Austin.

"You know me better than that, Shepard. Don't worry. I'm not the Shadow broker. Everything I'm doing, I'm doing of my own free will… for better or for worse, and for you." Said Xun.

"Goodbye, Xun. I hope you find something eventually." Said Liara as she and Austin turned to leave the office.

"So do I. Good luck on your mission, my friends. Give the Collectors hell!"

* * *

**In my opinion, this whole chapter has gone very well.**

**Next up will be Grunt's and Mordin's after that. I've also got plans for Shepard to acquire another new squad mate on Tutchunka, and i'm pretty sure you will be surprised by it. You'll still like it though.**

**Keep up those reviews, everyone. I welcome any feedback to help me improve.**


	25. Chapter 25, The Rite of Passage

**Another one done quite quickly. Good pace i've managed to get into.**

**As I said last time, this one will be Grunt's loyalty mission and we even meet Shepard's new squad mate.**

**Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 25**

**The Rite of Passage**

Austin headed down to check on Miranda. She'd been quiet since coming back from Ilium, but Kelly had reported that she'd been smiling a lot. Miranda was found at her usual spot. She smiled though when she saw Austin enter.

"Thanks again, Shepard. Taking the time to help me with my sister… I couldn't have reached Oriana in time without your help." she said as she got up and sat in a different chair that faced the window. She simply watched the stars go by. "And you proved yourself trustworthy…

"Are you happy about your sister's relocation?" Austin asked.

"She has what I wanted her to have - a normal life, and the freedom to choose her own path. And she knows she has an older sister. A friend." Miranda smiled.

"Are you going to talk to her again?" Austin asked.

"I honestly don't know. For once, I haven't planned that far ahead. I'll deal with it after our mission. I have to stay focused, and she needs time to adjust to her new home on an Arkadian colony." said Miranda.

"You never told me what you talked about." Austin inquired.

"I introduced myself. Her family was shocked. She adjusted quickly, of course. She's as smart as I am. She plays the violin. Loves the adagio movement of Nielsen's Fifth, just like I do. She wants to work in colony development. So her new home will give her some opportunity for that. Told a joke about it. She's really funny. Something we don't share." said Miranda.

"It's funny; I used to think of you as all business. Good to see there's a person under there." Austin smiled.

Miranda smiled back and stood up to face Austin.

"Thanks. I'm beginning to think that maybe serving with you isn't such a bad thing. Thank you, Major. My sister is safe again, thanks in large part to you. I won't forget that." she said.

* * *

Austin headed back up to the CIC to think about where to go next.

"Anything new, Kelly?" he asked.

"Grunt seems very agitated. He keeps pacing back and forth down in the cargo hold. You might want to speak with him." said Kelly.

Austin sighed. He hoped that Grunt wasn't starting to have any problems that would hinder his progress.

* * *

Austin quickly went down to the cargo bay where Grunt was residing with his tank still. Kraan was also there, most likely to keep Grunt contained if he got out of hand. True to what Kelly said, Grunt did look as though something was really bothering him.

"Shepard." said Kraan as he acknowledged Austin's presence.

"What's the problem?" Austin asked.

"I don't know. He hasn't spoken to me." said Kraan.

Austin walked a bit closer to Grunt.

"Grunt? Kelly said you're tearing up the place. Something wrong?" he asked.

"Something… is wrong, Shepard. I feel wrong, tense! I just wanna kill something. With my hands. More so than usual, like it's not my choice. Like I just want to, I don't know..." said Grunt. To everyone's surprise, he then head-butted one of the windows so hard that the glass cracked. "See? Why do that? What's wrong?"

"Okeer didn't imprint anything to help you figure this out?" Kraan asked, just as confused as Austin was.

"I see pictures of old battles, voices of warlords. But this is… a blood haze in my head. I want control. When we're moving, fighting, I focus. But here, my blood screams, my plates itch, and even you are just noise! I'm tank-born. What is this?" said Grunt.

"Don't know if I can help, Grunt. Sounds like we need one of your kind to look into this."

"Don't look at me, Shepard. I don't know what this problem is either. I've never known one of my kind to have a problem like this, even a tank-bred. Could be a medical condition. If so, we should probably have a Krogan doctor look at him." said Kraan.

"Most offworld Krogan are warriors. Doctor's don't' leave the homeworld. Tuchanka." said Grunt. "I won't ask you to go there. I will control this."

"Joker can get us to the Krogan homeworld. I need everyone at their best." said Austin reassuringly.

"Yeah! We're going back to Tuchanka!" Kraan cheered.

"Thank you, Shepard. I don't like this. Fury is my choice, not a sickness." said Grunt gratefully.

* * *

Scarred by bombardment craters, radioactive rubble, chocking ash, salt flats, and alkaline seas, Tuchanka, the Krogan homeworld, was barely capable of supporting life. Thousands of years ago, life grew in fierce abundance under the F-class satar Aralakh (a Raik clan word meaning "Eye of Wrath"). Tree analogs grew in thick jungles, their roots growing out of shallow salty seas. Life fed upon life in an evolutionary crucible. This world died in nuclear firestorms after the Krogan split the atom. A "little ice age" of nuclear winter killed off the remaining plant life. In recent centuries, many Krogan had returned to their homeworld. The reduced albedo had also caused global temperatures to rise. In order to maintain liveable temperatures, a vast shroud was assembled at the L1 Lagrange point.

The Hellhound dropship touched down and Austin, Grunt and Kraan stepped out. Austin had only chosen on taking the two Krogan with him for this one since he was aware that other Krogan didn't take kindly to aliens visiting their home. Helldivers made an exception since their people where part of them, but that didn't mean they'd have what people would call warm welcomes.

Sure enough, the guards to the entrance didn't seem very enthusiastic to see Austin or Grunt. They did seem respectful of Kraan though. After all, he was an Urdnot.

"The clan leader wants to speak with you." the lead guard said to Austin. He then noticed Grunt. "Keep your rutting pet on a short leash. Get him the rite soon, or put him down."

"You know what's wrong with him? What he needs?" Austin asked.

"There's nothing wrong with him. Just go speak with the clan leader." the guard repeated.

Tuchanka really was a ruin. In fact, Austin felt as though he was walking through the remnants of a war zone camp. Although, to be fair, that was probably what it was. There were a lot of Krogan here though. Whoever the clan leader was had obviously done well. From what Austin had heard his old crew member, Urdnot Wrex, was here and trying to unite the clans. Maybe there was a chance they'd see him.

Nearby, Austin found a shop stool. It was being run by a Krogan. Sat next to the Krogan was a rather large, battle scarred Varren.

"Greetings, Helldiver. My name is Ratch. Have a look at what I've got." said the Krogan.

"Everyone I talk to hates that aliens are in Urdnot. Except you." said Austin.

"I don't have the luxury of turning away paying customers. I do enough business off-world to know that aliens have more credits than people here do." said Ratch.

"What do you have in stock?" Austin asked.

"Most of its food and drink that toxic to humans. Ryncol's a local favourite. Don't try to act tough. Even if you're a Helldiver, it'll tear your insides apart. I knew a human Helldiver who did try it once; he woke up with two Asari in his bed. On the downside, he had stomach cramps for a week." said Ratch.

"He's not joking. Ryncol hits aliens like ground glass." said Grunt.

"Otherwise, I've got weapons, scrap... and whatever those Pyjaks don't steal... which isn't much." Said Ratch.

"I'm a good shot. Maybe I can help out with the Pyjaks." Austin suggested.

"Feel free. You can use the console out there to control the guns. Make a dent in the Pyjak population and you get a discount." Said Ratch.

The Varren then walked up to Austin and nudged him slightly. Austin noticed that this Varren had a unique skin colour compared to many others. He was mostly light brown with blue stripes on his back.

"Good Varren." said Austin as he petted the creature.

The Varren purred at Austin's touch.

"Huh, he seems to like you. He's never warmed up to strangers before." said Ratch.

"Is he yours?" Austin asked as he continued petting the Varren.

"No. I'm just trusted to look after him. He's a retired pit fighting champion." Ratch replied.

"That explains the scars." said Kraan. Then he realized something. "This isn't Urz, is it?"

Ratch nodded.

"Impressive." said Kraan.

"Stay." he said sternly to Urz.

Urz immediately obeyed and sat down.

* * *

Austin headed over to where Ratch had indicated earlier. There were a set of turrets that could be controlled. While Austin did regret having to shoot the Pyjaks since they were kind of cute, it still was a bit fun a good way of target practice. Austin fired shot after shot until finally, the Pyjaks stopped. Austin was certain he'd done enough now and reported back to Ratch. The Krogan was more than pleased to be rid of those Pyjaks now and had even started selling some of their meat.

"Seeing those vermin roasting in the heat from an explosive shell... I swear it was glorious." he said.

"It was kind of fun, I'll admit." said Austin.

"Then help yourself to more. There's no shortage of Pyjaks out there if you get a craving for violence. I'll give you a discount at my store. Anything you want, you buy at cost." said Ratch.

Austin looked at Urz for a moment and noticed that the Varren looked a bit hungry. What was wrong with feeding him? The Helldiver bought some of the meat and once again stepped up to Urz.

"Here. Try this." said Austin as he put the meat down in front of Urz.

The Varren instantly took it into its mouth and started eating.

 _"Wow. He was certainly hungry."_ Austin thought.

Urz finished eating and gulped the Pyjak meat down. He'd really enjoyed that. To Austin's surprise, Urz then went and sat right next to where he was standing. There was a different look in his eyes. He seemed... eager. In fact he now had that look that a dog had whenever they were waiting excitedly for their master to throw a ball.

"Ha! Looks like Urz finally found someone to follow around!" said Ratch. There was a brief moment of pause as the Krogan noticed the new look in Urz's eyes. "Say, human. He really likes you, and I can't keep looking after him. It's not healthy for him to be sitting here all the time. You wanna take him?"

Austin was very surprised by this. Ratch was offering him a former pit fighting Champion? He was being offered a pet?

"Are you sure? I'm on a rather dangerous mission. I can't guarantee I can bring him back." said Austin.

"I'm not letting you borrow him; I'm giving him to you completely. He's yours if you want him. Besides, you Helldivers see a lot of action. Urz might prove useful to you." said Ratch.

Austin looked at Urz for a long moment. He had to admit that the idea of having a Varren as a pet. Plus, Ratch was right. Urz was a former pit champion and he was still very far from old. He could definitely prove useful. True they faced well-armed enemies, but that wouldn't be a problem. Just give Urz some armour and he'd be even more lethal.

"Alright. I'll take him." Austin smiled.

"Good, then he's all yours. Look after him." Ratch smiled.

Urz seemed to understand that he had a new owner now and he briefly walked up to Ratch who gave him a goodbye pat on the head.

"Are you sure about this, Shepard? Looking after a Varren isn't the same as looking after an earthen dog." said Kraan.

"We'll manage. Anyway, I'm his owner now so he's my responsibility." said Austin.

"If you say so. Just want you to be sure you know what you're doing." said Kraan. "Although I do admit that having a Varren as a pet does sound exciting. Anyone who tries to get in our way with him around is gonna wish they'd never been born."

Having done enough sightseeing, Austin headed to where the clan leader was.

"Halt! You must wait till the clan leader summons you. He is... in talks." said one of the guards.

Austin looked past the guards. He couldn't see the clan leader clearly, but he could see the Krogan who was talking to the clan leader. This Krogan had a green head crest, a very uncommon sight. He was also wearing Krogan Battlemaster armour with blue glows.

"You know what tradition demands - Clan Urdnot must respond. Your reforms will not go unopposed. You risk appearing weak at a critical time..." he said.

"Shepard." said a familiar voice.

Everyone immediately looked to the sound of the voice. The clan leader stood up from his throne and they now had a proper view of him. There in front of them, was Wrex, his scarred face smiling at the sight of them.

"Good enough?" Austin asked as Wrex pushed the other Krogan out of the way. "Excuse me." said Austin as he walked past the guards.

Wrex and Austin both shook hands warmly, Wrex was even laughing with delight.

"Shepard! My friend!" he said warmly.

"Damn good to see you too, Wrex! It's been too long." said Austin happily.

"That it has. You look well for someone in a coma for two years, Shepard. Should've known the void couldn't hold you." Wrex smiled.

Kraan them came into view too. He and Wrex banged fists with one another.

"Kraan, welcome home." said Wrex.

"It's good to be back, old friend." Kraan smiled. "You're chief? Nice!"

"Looks like helping destroy Saren and the Geth has worked out for you. Glad we didn't have to kill each other on Virmire." said Austin.

"Ha! You made the rise of Urdnot possible. Virmire was a turning point for the Krogan. Although, not everyone was happy about it." said Wrex. He looked bitterly at the other Krogan as he said the last bit. "Destroying Saren's Genophage cure freed us from his manipulation. I used that to spur the clans to unify under Urdnot.

"You abandoned many traditions to get your way. Dangerous." said the other Krogan.

Wrex then suddenly head-butted

"Speak when spoken to, Uvenk! I'll drag your clan to glory whether it likes it or not." He said as Uvenk rubbed his head.

Wrex made his way back to his throne and sat back down on it.

"Now, Shepard. What brings you here? How's the Normandy?" he asked.

"Destroyed in a Collector surprise attack. I ended up spaced." Austin replied.

"Well, you look good. Ah, the benefits of a redundant nervous system." Wrex smiled.

"Yeah... humans don't have that." Said Austin admittedly.

"Oh, it must've been painful then. But you're standing here, and you've got a strong new ship. Takes me back to the old days. Us against the unknown, killing it with big guns. Good times." Said Wrex.

"I have a new Krogan as part of my team. His name's Grunt. He has some kind of sickness and needs treatment. We were hoping you might know what's wrong with him." Said Austin as he indicated to Grunt.

Grunt stepped forward and Wrex looked at him.

"Where are you from, whelp?" he asked. "Was your clan destroyed before you could learn what is expected of you?"

"I have no clan. I was tank bred by warlord Okeer, my line is distilled from Kredak, Moro, Shiagur-" said Grunt.

There was something different in Grunt's voice. The Krogan was usually unafraid and confident of anything he said. This time however, Grunt sounded as though he was nervous. Austin could only guess it was because of Wrex. Grunt knew that he was not only in the presence of a very old Battlemaster, but a clan chief and an old Krogan veteran who had served with Austin. Grunt clearly knew to show respect.

"You recite warlords, but you are the offspring of a syringe!" said Uvenk.

"Watch it, Gatatog. That may be true, but he's still my comrade." said Kraan challengingly. Even Urz seemed to growl slightly at Uvenk.

"I am pure Krogan. You should be in awe." said Grunt. Once again, he didn't say it as confidently or boastful as he normally would have. Austin hadn't realised that Grunt would be nervous around his friend.

"Okeer is a very old name. A very hated name." said Wrex coldly.

"He is dead." said Grunt as he swallowed hard. Perhaps that was also why he was nervous. Grunt knew about Okeer's history and perhaps feared of what Wrex would do.

"Of course. You're with Shepard. How could he be alive?" said Wrex.

"Does that name mean anything to you, Wrex?" Austin asked.

"A vicious warlord responsible for many deaths. Who apparently toyed with genetics. A clone undertaking the Rite…?" said Wrex.

"You are considering it? Tan-bred allowed status as an adult? This is too far!" Uvenk objected.

"I'd watch it if I were you, Uvenk. One more wrong word and I'll tear you apart right here." said Kraan defensively.

Austin really didn't understand how Krogan minds worked sometimes. For a long time he'd thought that Kraan didn't have any respect for Grunt or resented him. Yet here he was defending Grunt like he was a friend.

"You don't have the plates to try." said Uvenk.

"You won't have any plates when I'm done with you! Back down." said Kraan.

"I'd listen to him if I were you, Uvenk. I'm perfectly willing to let him kill you." said Wrex.

That was enough for Uvenk to back down, but the hate was still in his eyes.

"There's nothing wrong with him. He's becoming a full adult." Wrex explained to Austin.

"Wait, he's coming of age?" Austin asked.

"I don't care what aliens call it. Krogan undergo the Rite of Passage." said Wrex.

"Too far, Wrex! Your clan may rule, but this thing is not Krogan!" said Uvenk angrily as he stormed off.

"Idiot." Wrex muttered.

"My thoughts exactly." said Kraan.

"So, Grunt. Do you wish to stand with Urdnot?" Wrex asked.

"You'll let a tank bred Krogan join clan Urdnot?" Austin asked.

"Only because he's with you. After all, you and I killed thousands like him. Not quite as big, but many. Clan Urdnot is strong and the others will do as I say. They see the benefit of my vision." said Wrex.

"What happened if he doesn't do this Rite of Passage?" Austin asked.

"If he was left here, he would be killed. The clanless are not respected. A tank-bred, probably more so. His disposition is what it is, Rite or no. That's just him being a Krogan." said Kraan.

"Okeer didn't tell you that in the tank, did he, boy?" said Wrex.

Grunt simply remained silent.

"What does this Rite of Passage involve exactly?" Austin asked.

"Not for us to say, Shepard? The Shaman will discuss that." Wrex replied.

"This is his choice." said Austin.

Grunt spent a long moment to think about this. The Krogan looked at the whole place for a long moment before he turned back to the others.

"It is in my blood. It's what I am for." he said.

"Good boy. Speak with the shaman – he's over on the second level. Give him a good show, and he'll set you on the path." said Wrex. As he headed back his throne, he turned to Austin again. "You too, Shepard. How many times have you stepped in a mess for your crew, hmm?"

"Good to see you again, Wrex. You sure you can't come with us?" said Austin.

"Wish I could, but I need to keep these short sighted fools in line. Hunt well, Shepard." said Wrex.

The Shaman was right where Wrex had said he'd be. Unfortunately, Uvenk and his krantt where there too.

"You go beyond yourself, Gatatog Uvenk! The rites of Urdnot are dominant!" said the shaman.

"How do we know it will challenge him? He's unnatural! The beasts of the rite could ignore him like lump of plastic." Uvenk objected.

"They know blood, no matter the womb. Your barking does not help your case." said the Shaman.

"I'll speak for myself!" said Grunt,

"This is the tank-bred? It is very life like." said the Shaman. The Krogan sniffed Grunt. "Smells correct as well. Your protests ring hollow, Uvenk."

Normally, Austin would try to diffuse this peacefully, but his Helldiver teachings about other species taught him otherwise. Krogan favoured violent and forceful action and they also admired courage.

"I don't care what this idiot says. Grunt has the right to be here." he said.

"There's some fire – and from an alien! Oh, the shame this heaps on those who whine like pups." said the Shaman.

That was good. Austin had made a good first impression on Grunt's behalf.

"If this must stand on ritual, then I invoke a denial! My krantt stands against him! He has no one!" Uvenk objected again.

"Who says we need you, weakling?!" Kraan growled.

"My patience is tested, but Uvenk invokes correctly. Grunt, who is your krantt? Your allies willing to kill and die on your behalf?" the Shaman asked.

"How is a candidate tested if he brings back up on his Rite of Passage?" Austin inquired.

"Not every Krogan can be the strongest warrior. But each must inspire his peers to battle at his side. If the ones who know you best can find nothing worthy in you, you should wander the wastes and die alone before you weaken my clan. said the Shaman.

"You needn't worry about that. Grunt will strengthen clan Urdnot. Name a target and it will a death that will be spoken of for many years." said Austin.

"Well spoken, Helldiver. Most aliens, and some Krogan, do not understand our ways. I believe this human does." said the Shaman. He seemed very impressed now. Very good.

Despite this though, Uvenk still seemed to want to defy him.

"Aliens don't know strength. My followers are true Krogan. Everything about Grunt is a lie." he said.

To everyone's surprise, Austin then head-butted Uvenk right in the face. Normally, that sort of move from a human would simply make him stagger back. But a Helldiver was a different matter. The enhanced strength of Austin's suit enabled his attack to strike with such force that it was easily equal to a normal Krogan head-butt. Sure enough, Austin hit Uvenk with enough strength that it made him fall to the floor. Just as Wrex had done earlier.

Despite this though, it did hurt Austin a bit. Although his suit kept him safe, it still hurt his neck a bit. If he hadn't been wearing his suit, he could've risked doing dome more serious damage.

"Don't know how you guys mange it. That hurt my neck a lot." said Austin to Kraan as he rubbed his neck.

Uvenk quickly got back up on his feet. He looked just about ready to kill them all for that.

'You... you dare?" he said.

"Ba ha ha ha ha! I like this human! He understands!" the Shaman laughed.

"I will..." said Uvenk, but he was interrupted as Urz, Kraan and Grunt all growled at him. He didn't scare them. Urz especially looked ready to fight.

"Try it. I dare you." said Austin challengingly as he held Urz just to be sure he didn't start an unnecessary fight.

"You think that just because Wrex favours him that you can order me around?" said Uvenk.

"What the hell is your issue? What have you got against Grunt?" Kraan retorted.

"It's doesn't matter if one of our own made him – he is a manipulation! He may as well be the Genophage in the flesh." said Uvenk.

"The Genophage defines the weak. My bloodline will make us stronger." said Grunt.

"You sound like Wrex, bringing radical change that threatens our core. We have gone too far already." said Uvenk.

"This is about politics. You maneuver like the Citadel Council. Does your krantt also fight with words?" said Austin.

"You dare slander me in such a way?" said Uvenk.

"Impressive. You challenged with words – their natural weapon. And your krantt sees how your position weakens, Uvenk." the Shaman chuckled as he nudged Uvenk very hard.

"Shaman, you cannot decide in his favour! What about Krogan traditions if you pollute the Rite?" said Uvenk.

That however was the wrong thing to say, as that simply seemed to anger the Shaman.

"You… you dare! I was a warrior before your mother was born! I speak with the authority of centuries. I decide who is worthy. That is the end of it!" he said.

"I withdraw my denial. This will be decided elsewhere!" said Uvenk as he pushed Austin out of the way. He quickly withdrew however when Urz tried to lunge at him. Austin just managed to keep the Varren back.

"Easy, boy." Said Austin calmly as he held Urz back. If it where up to him he'd let the Varren chow down on Uvenk, but he didn't want to risk starting a clan war. Wrex would never forgive him for that.

"You have provoked them. Reason enough for me to like you. They're your problem now." said Shaman.

"Is that Krogan gonna be a problem?" Austin asked.

"He is forbidden to interfere. Will he? During the Rite of Passage, you must be ready for anything, Shepard. From what you've shown me, you will not disappoint." said the Shaman.

"Do we need any special equipment?" Austin asked.

"To begin the Rite, only the candidate and his krantt are required. You love battle, don't you Shepard? The last gasp of a dying opponent? Bring your love of the fight to Grunt's trial, and he will succeed." the Shaman replied.

"We're ready. Let's do this." said Austin.

At the same time, Grunt banged both his fists together.

"Excellent. But before we begin, I will have to ask that Urdnot Kraan does not take part in this. He has already completed his rite." said the Shaman.

"Kraan's..." Austin went to say, but Kraan stopped him.

"Don't try to argue, Shepard. He's right. Besides, Grunt won't truly be tested if he has a Krogan with him that has already passed the rite. It'll look like weakness to the others." he said.

"Exactly." said the Shaman.

"Well, when you put it that way..." said Austin. "Kraan, head back to the Normandy and tell X-5 to come join us."

"Have fun." said Kraan as he walked off.

"Am I allowed to bring, Urz?" Austin asked.

Urz simply remained clam as the Shaman looked at him.

"I must say, I am impressed that you now are now his new master. He was a fine fighter in his time. He will serve you well." "He may participate in the rite. It will allow his old skills to come back to him. I would recommend though that you outfit him with something to distinguish him. Give him some armour too. Now that he's not in the pits, he'll benefit from it." said the Krogan.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" said Austin.

* * *

Urz simply sat quietly as the rover made its way across Tuchanka's wastelands. The Varren it seemed was a lot tamer than Austin had expected. This had also been a relief for Dell who had also been brought down to fit Urz's new battle armour.

Although it had been on extremely short notice, Dell and Sill had quickly managed to make a set of battle armour that was designed specially to be worn by a Varren. It was adjustable, so they hadn't needed to worry about measuring Urz. The armour that Urz was wearing wasn't permanent. Now that Dell and Sill knew about this, they had said that they would get to work and making a much better version. This one had been done in a rush. For now, it would do though.

The armour covered Urz's body, his tail, he had gauntlets around his legs and metallic claws strapped to his feet and he even had a helmet around his head. In fact the armour looked a lot like Gladiator armour. The helmet covered the Varren's face obviously, but it left big gaps for his eyes and mouth. Urz also had a collar fitted. It was a perfectly normal collar and was merely just so that Austin could hold Urz back properly if he needed to keep the Varren under control or be prepared to release him. It occurred to Austin now that Urz would also be handy at interrogations.

"No disrespect, Shepard. But are you sure taking this Varren is a good idea?" Grunt asked.

"It'll be fine, Grunt. Besides, I'd like to see what Urz can do. He's a former pit fighting champion after all, I imagine he'll do well, especially with his new battle armour." said Austin as he patted Urz on the head. The Varren nuzzled him affectionately.

Eventually, the rover stopped and everyone hopped out. A few Krogan guards accompanied the shaman as they walked through the tunnels.

"This is Tuchanka's most recent scar, the last surface city to fall in the rebellions. The key stone was at the heart. It has survived wars and the passage of centuries. It endures - like the Krogan." he said.

They exited the tunnel to find themselves out in an open arena of some kind. In front of them was a massive pillar of some kind. Grunt gazed around the area in amazement.

"If you wish to join Clan Urdnot, you must contemplate the keystone and it's trials." said the Shaman.

"What will happen?" Grunt asked.

"Who knows? You must adapt. You must thrive, no matter the situation. Any true Krogan will." the Shaman replied.

With that, he and the other Krogan went back into the tunnels and the entrance sealed itself.

Now they were alone.

"Let's get started, Shepard. Hit the keystone." said Grunt as he took out his Claymore.

Austin did the same and unholstered his Revenant while X-5 powered up his shoulder mounted rail gun and wrist cannons. Urz simply growled with excitement, clearly enjoying the feel of Tuchanka's air on his skin.

Austin pressed the keystone and a large block inside the pillar was slowly raised up.

 _"First the Krogan conquered Tuchanka... and mastered a natural world only we are fit to hold"_ a Krogan voice boomed.

The raised slab then fell fast and hit the ground. The arena shook for a moment and then settled. Everything was silent for a moment before Urz then started growling. Everyone looked in the direction the Varren was facing. Sure enough, several other normal Varren were heading towards them. This was clearly the first wave of the rite.

"Here they come! I'm ready!" said Grunt.

"WeaPon systems online!" said X-5.

Urz also seemed to respond with an exciting bark.

The enemy Varren ran at them. Urz roared and charged at them. Almost immediately, he pounced on one and they wrestled while the others continued their charge.

Grunt, Austin and X-5 opened fire. Varren after Varren fell from the constant gunfire.

"Spread out!" Austin ordered.

Austin resorted to using his Revenant in his left hand, Excalibur in the other in case some of the Varren got to close and also his plasma cannon.

All the while he observed how Urz was doing. He was rather surprised.

Urz seemed to fight like made. He also definitely was putting his pit fighting skills to good use. The normal Varren would attempt to bite, but he'd then simply dodge and leap onto them. Urz's teeth where already stained with a lot blood. Plus, he was completely uninjured.

Austin was beginning to look forward to having Urz as a pet. Besides, how different was it really from looking after an Earthen dog.

More and more Varren came, but they simply fell from gunfire. Grunt and X-5 in particular where having the time of their lives. Finally, the last one fell and they all regrouped. Both Grunt and x-5 where stained with a bit of blood, Urz seemed relatively clean apart from his teeth claws, and mouth from where he'd bitten the other Varren. Austin meanwhile had quite a bit on him due to the fact that he'd used his sword. He may have made a bit of a gory mess.

"Let's signal the keystone to continue the right." said Grunt.

Austin did so and the slab was once again raised.

_"Then the Krogan where lifted to the stars to destroy the fears of a galaxy, an enemy only we could chase to their lair."_

The slab fell again and slammed on the ground.

This time, a large winged beast flew in.

"Crawlers, come to your death!" Grunt yelled.

Austin now recognised the creature as what was called a Harvester. It had a worm like neck and 4 insect like legs. It roared as it landed and then deposited several crab like creatures which were called Klixens.

"Careful. These one's spit fire." Austin warned.

The Harvester roared and took off, leaving the Klixens to fight the 4 of them themselves.

"Urz, stay back." Austin advised.

The Varren obeyed and stayed at Austin side while Grunt and X-5 moved closer. Austin decided that sniping would be a wiser decision from this range and switched to his Raptor, once again turning the incendiary ammo on.

"I AM KROGAN!" Grunt yelled as he charged one of the Klixens.

Austin simply crouched and sniped Klixen after Klixen. So far it was going well and they were managing to keep them back. That however changed when the Harvester swooped down again and deposited more of them.

Austin fired more and more shots at them, but there were too many this time, and eventually they got too close.

"Get 'em, Urz!" Austin yelled as he drew Excalibur again.

Urz immediately charged and bit hard into one of the Klixen's legs, causing it to screech in pain and to try and desperately shake the Varren off. At the same time, it tried breathing some of its fire onto Urz but it constantly missed and caught some of the other Klixen's and killing them.

Austin chopped, slashed and stabbed as the other Klixen's attempted to breathe some of their fire on him. Naturally of course, it didn't work. If a Helldiver suit could survive being in a vacuum, it could definitely survive fire.

One Klixen attempted to jump Austin but Urz saved him by jumping on the Klixen and biting both its eyes out. The Varren then went for another one and tackled it to the ground.

The fight was long and gory as Klixen after Klixen swarmed them. Eventually though, the Harvester just didn't come again. It was over.

"I hope this next wave is the last one." Austin panted as he pressed the keystone again.

_"Now, all Krogan bear the Genophage, our reward, our curse. It is a fight where the only goal is survival!"_

"Feel that? Everything is shaking." said Grunt.

True enough, the ground was shaking violently, and this time it wasn't from the keystone.

No! It couldn't be. Not now.

Unfortunately, Austin's worst fears where confirmed. A giant mass burst out of the ground and reared its head in their direction.

"Thresher Maw! Find cover!" Austin yelled.

The Thresher Maw roared and spat acid at them.

Urz also just managed to get into cover as well before the acid hit.

"Smart Varren." said Grunt.

"What is your recommended course of action, sir?" said X-5 as his shoulder gun fired few shots at the Maw.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." said Austin as he tried to think how they could kill the Thresher Maw. At least it was better than that Thresher maw husk they'd had to fight on Ilos. They'd simply been lucky to have some assistance with that.

Nevertheless, even a normal Thresher Maw was bad news.

"Any thoughts, Grunt? This is your Rite of Passage." said Austin as he avoided another bit of acid.

"I've got something, but it'll get messy. Keep it distracted, I need to get closer!" said Grunt.

"Hope you know what you're doing. I need you on this mission." said Austin.

Both Austin and X-5 fired at the Maw to draw it's attention. All the while, Grunt got a bit closer. He then started shooting too.

"Over here!" he yelled.

The Thresher Maw looked directly at the tank-bred Krogan and roared. Grunt simply growled and started charging up his Claymore.

"He's right. This is going to get messy. I'd get down if I were you." said Austin as he and X-5 ducked. "Stay close to me, Urz"

Urz huddled close to Austin.

Grunt started to run as the Maw roared at him. It lunged as it watched its prey flee. As its mouth engulfed Grunt, his Claymore finished charging and he fired.

The Thresher Maw's head exploded just as it engulfed Grunt completely. Loads of skin and gore where splattered all over the place and it's body fell.

Austin, X-5 and Urz slowly looked over cover to see the Thresher Maw's headless body bleeding heavily on the ground. But there was no sign of Grunt.

"Now that's the way to do it!" said a voice.

They looked to see Grunt walking away from the body. He was covered in Thresher Maw skin and gore, but he had a very smug smile on his face.

"That was fun." Grunt smiled as Urz licked some of the gore off of him.

A ship suddenly flew overhead.

"We have company. Good. I want more." said Grunt.

The occupants of the ship stepped out. It was Uvenk. Accompanying him where a few other Krogan from his krantt.

"You live, and you brought down the Thresher Maw. No one has done that in generations. Urdnot Wrex was the last." he said.

"My krantt gave strength beyond my genes. Which are damned good." said Grunt.

"This will cause discussion. I wonder… you say you are pure? No alien meddling in your construction? Just the warlord Okeer?" said Uvenk.

"The best Krogan traits are distilled into Grunt. He's designed to be perfect." said Austin.

"Being designed is the problem. But not made by aliens. And he is truly powerful. This is a tolerable loophole." said Uvenk.

"A what?" Grunt asked, confused.

"A reason to accept you. You are a mistake, but your potential could tip the current balance of clans." said Uvenk.

"You spit on my father's name! On Shepard's name! But now you stop ranting because I'm strong?" said Grunt.

"With restrictions. You could not breed, of course. Or serve on an alien ship. But you'd be clan in name." said Uvenk.

"You talk like he's a thing. You're after his power. You don't really want him in your clan." said Austin.

"Of course not! I didn't really want to cooperate with clan Urdnot, but I had to. Clan Gatatog is on the verge – either of greatness or of joining the dust. I get traditionalist support if I fight you, and reformer support if I back you. Your Rite of Passage tipped that balance, too." said Uvenk.

"If I know Grunt, your answer's coming at muzzle velocity." said Austin.

"You do know Grunt. This Varren is dead." Grunt smiled.

The tank-bred Krogan then charged at Uvenk and knocked him right down.

The rest of the Krogan unholstered their weapons and one even fired a concussive shot at them. The team immediately ducked behind cover, Urz also followed to avoid the shot.

"I think I've just about had enough of this guy." said Austin.

The Krogan where slightly tougher to take down. Uvenk in particular was a real pain due to his biotic barriers. For Austin however this wasn't difficult. A vicious fight followed around the sight as X-5, Grunt and Urz battled Uvenk's krantt while Austin fought the Krogan himself.

Pretty soon, Austin managed to fire just the right shot. Not only did it disable Uvenk's barriers, but it also shot his Claymore right out of his hands.

Uvenk's barriers where down and he was now disarmed.

"Go on then. Finish it." the Krogan growled.

"Oh, I intend to." said Austin as Urz came up behind him, growling at Uvenk and licking his lips hungrily.

"Urz, sic him!" Austin ordered.

Urz immediately obeyed and jumped at Uvenk. The Krogan tried desperately to shake the Varren off, but Urz sank his teeth into his arm. Uvenk screamed as Urz's sharp teeth carved right into his flesh and Urz pulled so hard he ripped the arm off completely.

"Do you want the honours, Grunt?" Austin offered.

"My pleasure!" said Grunt as he aimed his shotgun at Uvenk and blew the Krogan's face apart.

"Uvenk is meat. Let's signal the keystone to get out of her and leave him to rot." said Grunt.

Urz refused to drop Uvenk's arm and continued eating at the meat still on it. Austin guessed that would keep him happy for a while and now Urz also had some bone to chew on. He hoped however that they wouldn't start to smell. Because if they did, he'd have to take them away. The Normandy's cleaners would kill him if the decomposition left a smell all over the place. But Urz's was a fast and very efficient eater. Perhaps he'd eat all the flesh before it got the chance to stink.

They headed back to where the keystone was. Some of the Krogan guards from earlier had now returned. They nodded to Grunt that the Rite was finished.

* * *

"You have passed the Rite of Passage, earning the honor of clan and name." said the Shaman.

Grunt then kneeled before the Shaman.

"Many survive, but it has been years since a Thresher Maw fell! Your names shall live in glory. Grunt, you are Urdnot. You may now own property, join the army, and apply to serve under a Battlemaster."

"Shepard is my Battlemaster. He has no match." said Grunt.

"Understood." said the Shaman as he motioned for Grunt to stand again. "Congratulations, Urdnot Grunt. Accept this token from Fortack. His weapons are the finest we have."

"We should go." said Austin.

"May your foes be strong enough to keep you sharp." said the Shaman.

Before they left, Austin went back to Wrex.

"You just can't help making trouble. No one has killed a maw since my turn in the Rite. Next you'll tell me he's a quint and craps dark matter. Guess that's what it takes to replace me." said the old Krogan. "You are Urdnot Grunt. Welcome."

* * *

Grunt had been silent after coming back from Tuchanka, but Kelly had noticed an improvement in his mood, and it certainly showed when Austin came down to check on him.

"Urdnot Grunt. I like it. I have a clan. That makes me… it makes me want to fight – not just able to! And Uvenk! I wanted to disembowel him! To tear out his spine like a trophy!" said Grunt.

"Save it for the Collectors, Grunt. I don't want you starting fights on my ship." said Austin sternly. Besides, we did this because you were losing control. Now you just seem as hell bent as ever."

"Wrex said I was normal. I just had all this built up stuff from being grown in the tank. Now that I know it's not an outside thing, and I have a place as a Krogan, I like it. Our enemies are in trouble, Shepard. And we better not run out of targets." said Grunt.

"There's no danger of that. They're practically lining up." Austin smiled.

"Everyone gets a turn. Ha! Wouldn't want it any other way." said Grunt as he banged his fists together.

* * *

Austin was glad at least that Grunt was in control now, even if he did still seem eager for nothing but violence. Austin guessed it would only be a matter of time before another member of the team came to him with another personal mission. Sure enough, speak of the devil, Kelly notified him as soon as he re-entered the CIC.

"Major, Mordin would like to speak to you. He seems to have something distracting him from his work." she said.

Austin was beginning to see that everyone was starting to find something they wanted to wrap up. Not that he could blame them. They were preparing for a suicide mission and would need to be focused if they were to make it out alive. Austin also had to keep reminding himself that Uthenra would be coming aboard in a few days. He still needed to make preparations for it.

Mordin was once again in his lab and was typing away at his console, most likely working on a new project or something. A bit Like Dell sometimes did.

"Shepard. Important news. Know you're busy. Have to deal with Collectors. Planning attack. Too important to wait. Just received data, still processing, analysing likely scenarios. Not sure how to begin. Too much intel. You remember our talk? My work on Genophage modification?" the Salarian asked.

"Hmm, yes. You stopped the Krogan adaptation to the Genophage." said Austin coldly.

He didn't care if Mordin disapproved of him saying it like that. He was still appalled at Mordin for modifying a lethal weapon like that that shouldn't have existed in the first place. In fact it was that event that had prevented the Salarians from joining the Helldivers. The Council had attempted many times to negotiate something with the Arkanes, but they always distrusted the Salarians due to the Genophage and some even thought that they might try the same for them simply to clear up their own mess if it all went to hell.

"Part of a team. Scientists, all different types. Blood Pack mercenaries captured former team member. Maelon. Last seen on Tuchanka. Might torture him. Make an example. Recovering Maelon would be personal favour to me." Mordin explained.

"Do you think they found out your team updated the Genophage?" Austin asked.

"Unclear. No way to determine until we get Tuchanka." said Mordin.

"If only you'd told me earlier. I was just on Tuchanka. Still, we can go back if need be. We'll find your team member." said Austin.

"Appreciate it. My assistant. My student. Want to see him safe. Maelon last seen outside Urdnot territory. Scouts might have seen Blood Pack. Talk to them or clan chief." said Mordin. "In the meantime, will be here trying to determine how scale itch got onto Normandy. Sexually transmitted disease. Only carried by Varren Implications unpleasant."

Austin simply cleared his throat at that. He honestly hoped that this scale itch thing had not been caused by Urz, especially if it was an STD. That was very unpleasant to think of.

* * *

Austin decided to have another quick chat with Thane before heading back to Tuchanka.

"Do you need something?" Thane asked.

"Have a few minutes to talk?" Austin asked.

"Certainly." Thane replied.

"If you don't mind me saying, you're what expected. You don't seem like a typical assassin." said Austin.

"In my experience, those who are truly dangerous don't act like they are." said Thane.

"Hmm, that's comforting for me to know." said Austin hesitantly.

"Don't worry, Shepard. I don't think it'll be possible for me to assassinate you without you at least noticing in some way. Helldivers are too smart and self-aware for that." said Thane.

"Thanks... I guess." said Austin. "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you been doing this?"

"The Hanar trained my body for this role since I was six years old." Thane replied.

"You've been killing since you were six?" Austin asked in surprise.

"Of course not. I didn't make my first kill until I was 12. They were training me. I was not to be used and thrown away. I was an investment." said Thane.

"You were a child not an investment!" said Austin sternly.

"I've given you the wrong idea. They valued me. Yes, as a resource. But also as a person. They... regretted their need for me." said Thane.

"Why did your parents agree to this?" Austin asked. He was rather surprised that a family would allow this sort of thing for their child at such a young age.

"The agreement was made under the Compact. It was an honour of our family." said Thane.

'The Compact?" Austin inquired.

"We live on the Hanar homeworld because they rescued us - some of us - from extinction. We owe them our lives. That is the Compact." said Thane.

"This can't be legal. They made your whole race into slaves!" said Austin.

"I understand how you must feel given that you and other Helldiver are trained to fight and end slavery. But I assure you, it is nothing like that. Besides, anyone can choose to serve. Few do. We owe our existence to the Hanar. We are proud to repay the debt." said Thane.

"But you don't kill for the Hanar anymore. You're a freelance. What changed?" Austin asked.

"I was asleep for a long time, yes. I paid no attention to what my body was asked to do. But then-" said Thane. Then something strange seemed to happen. Thane spoke as if he was suddenly remembering something and describing it in great detail. "Laser dot trembles on his skull. One finger-twitch, he dies. Then the smell of spice on the spring wind. Sunset coloured eyes defiant in the scope. The laser dances away."

Then it seemed to stop. Thane hesitated for a while before he spoke again.

"My apologies. Drell slip into memories so easily." he said.

"Was that one of your assassinations?" Austin asked.

"Ah. Yes. Perhaps we can discuss it later. I've wasted too much of your time." said Thane.

Austin felt it best to try and press the issue and simply left. It did get him wondering about Thane though. What was his story? The Major should try and talk to Thane again when possible and ask about what had just happened.

* * *

**I'm looking forward to doing some more missions with Urz. obviously there are some restrictions to where he can go. I really doubt Varren are allowed on Illium or the Citadel for example. I've also made up that Varren can live for 800 years since their true lifespan is never revealed. Besides, Krogan live just as long as Asari, why shouldn't Varren since they live on the same homeworld?**

**Until next time. Do let me know what your opinions are on this one.**


	26. Chapter 26, Old Blood

**Important note.**

**It'll be my birthday this Saturday and one of the presents I asked for was Assassin's Creed 3. So chances are I am going to spend a lot of free time playing it.**

**Don't despair though, i will still be working on future chapters. After all, I can still do them when I have free time at College (Which is better since there aren't any games on the computers to distract or tempt me)**

**So I will still be writing, chapters just won't be as frequent.**

**The next one i think will Garrus' and then also part of an original story in which Shepard meets Dell's wife Uthenra. May also include soem Citadel downtime as well. I've even got a small romantic scene with Liara planned for that.**

**In the meantime, enjoy this chapter. Apologies if it's a bit short.**

* * *

**Chapter 26**

**Old Blood**

Once again, the Hellhound touched down and the doors opened. Austin had felt it best that he didn't take Kraan or Grunt with him for this mission. If Kraan found out the truth about Mordin modifying the Genophage, he would kill the Salarian without hesitation. Austin wasn't sure if Grunt felt he same way, but he still wasn't willing to take any risks. He may share their views of the Genophage, but Mordin was essential for the mission.

Urz hopped out of the Hellhound accompanied by Tali. The Quarian had now managed to recover from the injuries she'd sustained from the Collector Captains and now all she had lift of her infections was a slight soar throat.

Dell and Sill had now finished Urz's proper battle armour. This time, the Varren wore a more silver variant of his original armour. It was also more plated than the last and designed to look like large scales. It also had spikes and sharp edges in places. It was fair to say that trying to touch Urz while he was wearing the armour was not recommended if you valued your life or a body part, or even something really important if you where a man.

The crew had been rather surprised when Austin had told them that he now had a pet Varren, some had even though it to be a bad idea. Urz however had been extremely well behaved and appeared to be getting along with the crew very well. Tali and Kasumi in particular had been very fond of him. Tali had even called him cute.

Their where still a few things that needed sorted though. Most importantly, Austin still had to decide where Urz would sleep. He'd be able to roam the ship freely, but he needed somewhere where he could always rest without there being any problems. Normally, Austin would just get Urz a comfortable large basket and let him sleep in the captain's quarters, but at the same time, Austin was a bit concerned that he and Liara wouldn't be able to enjoy their "special nights" knowing that Urz might be watching them. Then again, Urz probably wouldn't be interested, but Austin didn't know that. For all he knew, Urz would be curious with the sight before him.

Still, that was something to worry about later. For now at least, Urz had settled in on the Normandy very well and didn't seem to mind his new home at all. Sill had in fact just been playing fetch with him an hour ago. Plus, the simulator would be perfect for taking him on regular walks and giving him exercise.

The team made their way back into the Urdnot camp, Urz walking along casually beside his new master. Tali would also occasionally give him a friendly pat on the head.

Wrex was a bit surprised to see Austin back this soon.

"Back already, Shepard? What do you need?" he asked.

"I'm looking for a Salarian. He was captured by the Blood Pack and brought here." Austin replied.

"My scout commander can direct you. He's probably hear the perimeter running target practice. Don't take too much of his time. I need a constant watch on the other clans." said Wrex.

"Thanks again, Wrex. I need to go." said Austin.

"Watch yourself, Shepard. Tuchanka isn't safe and homey, like Feros and Ilos." said Wrex.

Austin and the other went up to the chief scout and he turned to face them.

"What do you want, Helldiver? Wrex told me to be polite. He didn't say you were going to talk to me." he said.

"I'm looking for a Salarian. The Blood Pack captured him, and he was last seen around here." said Austin.

"I heard about that Salarian, poor bastard. If it's Blood Pack, then Clan Weyrloc has him. Sent one of my scouts to check it out, but he never reported back. Guess they got him, too. Chief told me to give you one of the trucks. Just follow the highway to Weyrloc's base, if you've got the quads to deal with him and the Blood Pack." said the chief.

"What can you tell me about Clan Weyrloc's base?" Austin asked.

"Last I heard, the Clan was holed up in a hospital. I haven't seen it, though. I've only ever seen Clan Weyrloc from a distance. If I'd gotten closer, I'd have taken a shot. You get inside, though, bring a big gun. Weyrloc's base is crawling with Blood Pack." the chief explained.

"That doesn't sound too defensible. Why'd they hole up there?" Austin asked.

"Any hospital on Tuchanka to be built well enough to withstand a bunch of enraged Krogan. When an injury forces us to switch over to secondary organs, things get messy. Higher thought processes don't always transition properly. "Blood rage," they call it." said the chief.

"Any idea what they're doing with the Salarian?" Tali asked.

"I assumed they wanted to torture him. You don't take somebody home just to kill them. It's messy. Maybe he pissed off the Blood Pack, and they brought him here for special treatment. No skin off my hump what they do with him. One less alien on Tuchanka." the chief replied.

"You don't seem to have much love lost for aliens." said Austin as he folded his arms.

"Don't get your quads in a twist. If I was going to kill you, you'd know about it. Wrex believes we need to unite the Krogan people. I don't think we can do that with offworlders interfering. But it's not my call." said the chief calmly.

"What's Clan Weyrloc's reputation? And how are they involved with the Blood Pack?" Austin asked.

"Tough humps. And they're not friendly, like we are. You ever run into the Blood Pack? Mercenary gang. Clan Weyrloc started it. One of the only gangs with an off-world presence. They're fanatics, totally devoted to Weyrloc Guld. Whatever they did with your Salarian, Guld's behind it." said the chief.

"What makes Guld so special?" Austin asked.

"He's got two children. One of them is a girl. Some people think he's got a destiny. Not me. I had a cousin who won 20 consecutive games of quasar. Lucky bastard. I'd ask my cousin for a loan, but I wouldn't swear allegiance to him. Luck. That's all it is. Same for Guld." said the chief.

"But the Blood Pack has non-Krogan members – like Vorcha." said Austin.

"The Vorcha? They're just like the Varren, only they can use guns and don't crap on the floor as often." said chief.

Urz seemed a bit offended by this and gave a low growl. Austin however patted him gently on the head and he seemed to calm down.

"He didn't mean it like that, Urz." he said.

"The Krogan are the only real members of the Blood Pack. Anyone else is just there to soak enemy fire." said the chief.

Austin felt he'd taken up enough of the chief scout's time and let him get back to his work.

* * *

The team took one of the trucks and once again headed out over the vast wastelands. Pretty soon, they where near the outskirts and they disembarked. The outskirts did seem a bit windy, but it was tolerable enough for all of them. A soon as they cleared the truck however, they spotted a few Klixens in the distance.

"Stay here. I'll see if I can even the odds a bit." Austin whispered as he activated his cloak and vanished from sight. Mordin, Tali and Urz did as they where told and went into cover out of sight. Even Urz knew to hide and keep out of sight.

Austin slowly krept closer to the Klixens. He spent about a minute thing of a good way to handle this situation. Frag grenade perhaps? Or maybe a synch shot. Then Austin thought of a good idea.

"Be ready to fire." he whispered into his comm as he took a flashbang from his combat belt and armed it.

Austin gently rolled the grenade towards the Klixens. The creatures looked at the rolling device with interest as it slowly powered up.

"On my mark. 3... 2... 1..."

The flashbang exploded and the Klixens where blinded by the bright light.

"Fire!" Austin shouted.

Mordin and Tali popped out of cover and fired at each individual Klixen. Urz also lunged at the other as Austin fired at the last Klixen.

Within just a few seconds, the Klixens where nothing but bodies.

"Good tactic. Very quick and effective." Mordin commented.

"Popular tactic of Helldivers." said Austin.

As they rounded the corner, two wild Varren suddenly jumped out at them. Austin managed to knock away one while Urz charged the other and bit into it's neck. Now that Urz had his armour, a normal Varren was no match for him at all.

The other Varren quickly got back up to it's feet and ran at Austin. Before Austin could react however, Tali suddenly stabbed the Varren twice with the combat knife she had strapped to her leg.

Austin looked in amazement as Tali twirled the knife twice in her hand and then sheathed it again.

"Not bad." he said approvingly.

"I learnt that from Leena." Tali smiled.

"Hmm, and I believe she learned that from Ventra." said Austin.

"Are those two... you know?" Tali asked.

"I don't know. I'd like to think so however. They've always been fairly close during their time in Alpha Squad. In fact, I think they've shared meals once or twice." Austin replied.

"I hope so too. Leena deserves someone to love again after what she endured." said Tali.

"Turian and Quarians also good couple. Both dextrous DNA. Sexually compatable." said Mordin.

"That was a bit more information than we needed, Mordin." said Austin uncomfortably.

"Apologies. Simply offering my opinion." said Mordin.

After fighting their way through several more Varren, a fe Vorcha and even Blood Pack guards, they finally managed to make it to the hold out. True enough, it did indeed seem to be a hospital of sorts.

"Repurposed Krogan hospital. Sturdy. Built to withstand punishment." Mordin commented.

"Odd to see the Krogan devote so many resources to caring for the sick." said Tali.

"Hospitals important to Krogan Sites of honor. Focus for repopulation." said Mordin.

As they decended the stairs, they came across the dead body of a human.

"That body. Human. Need to take a look." said Mordin as he crouched down and started examining the body. "Sores, tumours, ligatures showing restraint at wrists and ankles. Track marks for repeated injection sites. Test subject. Victim of experimentation."

"I don't suppose there's any way to tell who this poor bastard was?" Austin asked.

"No tattoos or ID. Maybe slave or prisoner. Maybe merc or pirate. Irrelevant now. Clearly part of Krogan tests to cure Genophage. Humans useful as test subjects. Genetically diverse. Enables exploration of treatment modalities." said Mordin.

"Experiment on humans? That kind of crap is what makes Cerberus start to seem like a good idea!" said Austin.

"Never used humans myself. Disgusting, unethical, sloppy. Used by brute-force researchers, not thinkers. No place in proper science. Krogan use of humans unsurprising." said Mordin.

"I imagine you had to do a few live subjects while developing the new Genophage." said Austin accusedly.

"No. Unnecessary. Limited tests to simulations, corpses, cloned tissue samples. High-level tests on Varren." said Mordin.

Urz once again didn't like the sound of that and seemed to whine a bit. Tali however gave him a few friendly strokes and his mood seemed to brighten.

"Don't worry, boy. I'm not gonna let him do that to you." said Austin.

"No tests on species with members capable of calculus. Simple rule, never broke it." Mordin finished.

"Now we've got two reasons to shut this place down." said Austin as he and Mordin stood back up.

"Focus on Maelon. Too late to help the dead." said Mordin.

The next bit of the room was much larger and even had a high up balcony on it. As they entered, a door on the balcony opened and three Krogan stepped out.

"I am the speaker for clan Weyrloc, offworlders. You have shed our blood. By rights, you should be dead already. But Weyrloc Guld, the Chief of Chiefs, has ordered that you be given leave to flee and spread the message of our coming." said the clanspeaker.

"Krogan don't generally let people go. What does Clan Weyrloc have planned?" Austin asked.

"If you leave now, you can tell your children that you saw Clan Weyrloc before our Blood Pack conquered the stars. You think the Urdnot impressive? They are pitiful. Weyrloc Guld will destroy them!" said the clanspeaker. "The Salarian will cure the Genophage and Clan Weyrloc will spread across the galaxy in a sea of blood!"

'Appears they discovered Maelon's work Unfortunate." said Mordin.

"It doesn't have to happen like this. I can understand want to cure the Genophage..." said Austin.

"No, human! You understand nothing! You have not seen the piles of children that never lived! The Krogan were wronged! We will make it right, and then we will have our revenge!" the clan-speaker interrupted.

"Half the galaxy sees the Krogan as victims! If you start a war, you'll lose their support!" said Austin.

"We have the Blood Pack, and we have the Salarian! When our clan numbers in the millions, we will not need support. When we cure the Genophage, Weyrloc Guld will rule all Krogan! The Krogan Rebellions will become the Krogan Empire! The surviving races will frighten their children with tales of what the Blood Pack did to the Turians! The Asari will scream as their Citadel plunges into the sun!" said the clan-speaker.

"Like hell it will! You talk too much!" Austin interrupted as he activated his plasma cannon and fired it at the balcony. The shot however hit the underside. The Krogan didn't seem intimidated by this.

"See? The human cannot hit a simple target!" said clan-speaker. The Krogan however then heard soemthing. A faint hissing sound. Only too late did he notice that it was ignitable gas.

"I wasn't aiming for you." said Austin.

The Helldiver fired again and the fuel ignited. The clan-speaker screamed in pain as he burst into flames. The other two Korgan guards unholstered their weapons and opened fire as the team went into cover. Several Vorcha shortly arrived too.

"Nothing's faster than Chiktikka vas Paus!" said Tali as she once again summoned her pink drone.

Urz lunged at one of the Vorcha and bit several times while Austin and mordin concentrated on the Krogan.

"Thought I was harmless, did you?" said Mordin as he deployed an incinerate drone which quickly burnt through the armour of both Krogan. Austin was quickly able to finish one off by smashing their face in and then firing several shots into the other Krogan at point black range.

"Labs likely through there. Can smell antiseptic, hint of dead flesh." said Mordin as they ascended the stairs to where the three Krogan had come from earlier.

"Sometimes I'm really glad I can turn off my mask's olfactory filters" said Tali.

"As am I, Tali." said Austin as he did the same.

Helldiver suits also had olfactory filters to help in certain environments. It allowed them to be a bit more aware of their surroundings and in some ways it did allow them to feel as though they weren't actually wearing a suit. In some cases, this came in handy.

The labs where a mess. There was rubble and debris all over the place. There where no sings of bodies though, so the labs did at least have a clean look to them.

"Active console. May contain useful data. One moment. Genetic sequences. Hormone mutagens still steady. Protein chains, live tissue, cloned tissue. Very thorough. Standard treatment vectors. Avoiding scorched-earth immunosuppressant's to alter hormone levels. Good. Hate to see that." said Mordin.

"Most people wouldn't be so casual about developing a sterility plague, Mordin." said Austin coldly.

"Not developing. Modifying. Much more difficult. Working within confines of existing Genophage. A hundred times the complexity. Errors unacceptable. Could cause total sterility, malignant tumours. Could even reduce effectiveness. Worse than doing nothing. Had to keep Krogan population stable. One in one thousand. Perfect target, optimal growth. Like gardening."

"Pretty it up however you like. You're talking about murdering millions!" said Austin.

"No. Murdered no one. Altered fertility, prevented fetal development of nervous system. Have killed many, Shepard. Many methods. Gunfire, knives, drugs, tech attacks, once with farming equipment. But not with medicine." said Mordin defensively.

"The effects on Tuchanka are still your responsibility! You upgraded the virus that kept them in barbarism!" said Austin.

"Krogan committed war crimes. Refused to negotiate. Turian defeat not complete. Krogan could have recovered, attacked again. Conventional war too risky. Krogan forces too strong. Genophage only option. Krogan forced Genophage. Us or them. No apologies for winning. Wouldn't have minded peaceful solution." said Mordin.

"We're not going to find Maelon staring at consoles. Come on." said Austin.

Another sperate room of the labs showed operating tables. On one of them was a covered body. It was already clear from the shape under the blanket that it was a Krogan. Next to the body was a datapad. Mordin picked it up and read it.

"Dead Krogan. Female. Tumours indicate experimentation. No restraint marks. Volunteer. Sterile Weyrloc female willing to risk procedures. Hoped for cure. Pointless. Pointless waste of life." he said sadly.

"Didn't expect you to be disturbed by the sight of a dead Krogan." said Austin.

"What? Why? Because of Genophage work? Irrelevant. No, causative. Never experimented on live Krogan. Never killed with medicine. Her death not my work, only reaction to it. Goal was to stabilize population. Never wanted this. Can see it logically… but still unnecessary. Foolish waste of life. Hate to see it." said Mordin defensively.

"I didn't think you'd had much direct contact with things like this. Did you even come to Tuchanka after dropping your plague?" Austin replied back.

"Yearly recon missions. Water, tissue samples. Ensure no mistakes. Superiors offered to carry it on. Refused. Need to see it in person. Need to look. Need to see. Accept it as necessary. See small picture. Remind myself why I run a clinic on Omega." Mordin replied. The Salarian then did something very unexpected. "Rest, young mother. Find your gods. Find someplace better."

"You are full of odd surprises, Mordin. I didn't expect spirituality from you, Mordin." Austin commented.

"Genophage modification altered millions of lives. Then saw results. Ego, humility, juxtaposition. Frailty of life. Size of universe. Explored religions after work completed. Different races. No answers. Many questions." said Mordin.

"Sounds like you were trying to deal with your guilty conscience. The doctor who killed millions." said Austin.

"Modified Genophage project great in scope. Scientifically brilliant. But ethically difficult. Krogan reaction visceral, tragic. Not guilty, but responsible. Trained as doctor. Genophage affects fertility. Doesn't kill. Still caused this. Hard to see big picture behind pile of corpses." said Mordin.

"Can you really just rationalize it all away? How do you justify it?" Austin replied, now finding it difficult to contain his anger at Mordin.

"Wheel of life. Popular Salarian concept. Similar to human Hinduism in focus on reincarnation. Appealing to see life as endless. Fix mistakes in next life. Learn, adapt, improve. Refuse to believe life ends here. Too wasteful. Have more to offer. Mistakes to fix. Cannot end here. Could do so much more." said Mordin.

"If you need this much soul-searching to get over it, it just shows the Genophage was wrong." said Austin.

"Had to be done. Rachni Wars, Krogan Rebellions all pointed to Krogan aggression. So many simulations. Effects of Krogan population increase. All pointed to war. Extinction. Genophage or genocide. Save galaxy from Krogan. Save Krogan from galaxy." said Mordin.

"You could have cured the Genophage, instead. Brought hope to the Krogan. They'd have rejoiced. But no, you just went and made things worse." said Austin.

"Assumes human reaction. Krogan stimulus response different. Harsh environment, take chance to fight, flee. Would have caused chaos on Tuchanka. Victor would have war economy, bloodthirsty army. Galactic expansion outcome. More war. Genophage saved lives, war would've ended."

"So you're willing to sterilize a species based on the evidence of a few simulations? That's pathetic!" said Austin crossly.

"Millions of data points. Years of arguments. Countless scenarios. All noted Krogan fragmentation as dangerous. No unified culture to support repopulation. Would have been war. Turians and humans destroying Krogan utterly. Genophage was better. Saved lives." Mordin replied back defensively.

Austin nearly lost his temper at that and seized Mordin by the throat.

"Did it?! Look at the dead woman, Mordin! It doesn't look like you saved her!" he shouted.

"No. It doesn't. Worked with available data. Only option. No other possible… Doesn't matter." said Mordin.

Austin managed to calm down and he let Mordin go. He didn't bother apologising though. Mordin was not the one that was right.

They left the labs and found what looked like a prison cell. Inside where two Krogan. One dead, the other alive but very weak from the looks of him.

"You killed the Blood Pack guards!" he said.

"Not Blood Pack, not member of Clan Weyrloc. Wrong clan markings." said Mordin.

"I'm an Urdnot scout. Weyrloc guards got me. Brought me here." said the Krogan.

"The chief scout told us to watch for you. We've taken out the guards. Get back to Urdnot." said Austin.

"I can't. The Weyrloc did things to me. Drugs. Injections. Said I was sacrificing for the good of all Krogan. Experiments to cure the Genophage. Everything's blurry. Hard to think. Have to stay." said the scout.

"Mordin, can you get him back on his feet? Stims, maybe? Something to bolster his immune system?" Austin asked.

"You don't understand. I'm not too sick to leave. I have to stay. They're curing the Genophage. They're going to make it all better! They have to keep doing the tests!" said the scout.

"Caution, Shepard. Patient unstable, susceptible. Brainwashed." said Mordin.

"Why do you want them to keep doing the tests?" Austin asked.

"This is my fault. I got caught. Wasn't strong enough, not good enough. This is the best I can do. This is all I can do. I'm not big enough to have a real shot with the females. I'll never have kids of my own. But if I help undo the Genophage, then I mattered!" said the scout.

"Millions of children will be born – Weyrloc children. They're going to destroy the other clans." said Austin.

"But… no. No, they said I was helping Urdnot!" said the scout, shocked at learning the truth.

"If you want to help Urdnot, you need to get back there. But it would take a real badass to make it back to camp while injured." said Austin.

"I can do it." said the scout.

"You? I said a badass, not some scout whining like a Quarian with a tummy-ache." said Austin.

"I'm standing right here!" sad Tali.

"I can do it! I'm up! And I'm going to the female camp!" the scout repeated, this time way more confidently as he stood up.

"Damn right you are! Get back there and show them what you're worth! Go, go!" said Austin encouragingly.

"Rah!" the scout roared as he left.

"I can't believe that worked." said Tali in amazement.

As they neared the next door, Austin's suit detected a lot more Blood Pack Krogan in the room.

" _Shepard, I'm detecting crates ahead that are holding unstable materials. A misplaced shot could cause a significant explosion."_ said EDI.

"Or a well-placed shot. Explosives useful. Burn through Krogan armour." said Mordin.

"Hmm, good advice, Professor." said Austin. "Still, best for us to know if they have any surprises for us. No doubt they know we're here now."

Austin took a very small contraption from his belt and placed it on the floor. He then activated his omni tool and the device unfolded into a tiny robot spider.

It had been a while actually since Austin had used this little helper. Last time he had, he'd used it to plant a bug in the Citadel for news reporter Emily Wong. It now occured to Austin that he should perhaps return there soon. Alpha deserved a small break after all, and they could get some good suplies.

The spider gently crawled under the door and once on the side, started crawling on the walls. The visual feed, which fed to Austin's omni tool identified several more Krogan in the vacinity and a few Varren as well. EDI had also been correct about the explosives.

Austin deactivated his omni tool and the spider slowly came back. The Helldiver allowed the spider to crawl onto his hand and it once again curled back up into it's tiny device form, which Austin placed back into one of the pouches on his belt.

"Tali, set up to breach." he said quietly.

Tali nodded and placed a small device on the door. She'd worked with Austin long enough to know now what Austin meant when he said things like that in these sorts of situations.

The device exploded and the door flung opened.

All four of the team proceeded in, guns blazing. Sure enough, Austin managed to land a well placed shot on one of the containers and it's explosion sure enough managed to brun through the armour of three of the krogan anad even killed two of the wild Varren. The rest where easily dealt with with gunfire and melees if they got close enough. Urz meanwhile was putting his old skills to very good use. His new armour even made him a lot harder for the Krogan to fight. He was now bullet proof and his old skills coupled with the armour's lightness made it hard to even land a shot on him in the first place.

Austin really was growing quite fond of his new pet Varren. People wouldn't want to miss with him now.

The team headed down another level as they fought their way through even more of Clan Weyrloc and Blood Pack Krogan. Things went well at first, but then that changed when a new Krogan joined the fray. This one was dressed in some sort of passive Krogan armour that looked twice as large as any other. He even had biotic barriers and a claymore shotgun. Austin could only guess that this was Weyrloc's Chief, Weyrloc Guld himself.

True enough, Guld was a fierce fighter and unfortunately, the team didn't have a biotic specialist to tip the scale in their favour.

"Tremble and die, offworld scum! I am Weyrloc Guld, Chief of Chiefs!" Guld yelled as he laid down surprressing fire form his shotgun, forcing the team to seek cover quickly. Even Urz knew better than to try and charge the korgan and hid next to Austin.

"Blood Pack, attack!"

"Mordin, Tali, deal with the Blood Pack. Urz and I will handle Guld." said Austin.

Mordin and Tali nodded and focused their gunfire on the Blood Pack Krogan. Austin meanwhile stuck to cover.

"Urz, see if you can distract him for me. Okay?" Austin said to the Varren.

Urz nodded and ran out of cover. He dodged back and froth to avoid Guld's gunfire while Austin cloaked and gently snuck behind Guld. The Krogan chief only noticed too late before Austin uncloaked and stabbed Excalibur right into the Krogan's head. The chief staggered for a bit before falling and Austin pulled his sword gently out of the dead Krogan's head. Urz walked up to Austin and the Helldiver stroked him behind the ears.

"Good boy." he smiled. Urz simply purred in delight.

With no more Weyrloc in the way, their path to Maelon was clear.

The team entered the main lab to find a curious site. Maelon was there working on a large holographic console. However he wasn't restrained or being forced to do it at all. In fact he seemed to be doing it willingly.

"Maelon. Alive. Unharmed." "No signs of restraint. No evidence of torture. Don't understand." said Mordin.

"For such a smart man, Professor, you always had trouble seeing evidence that disagreed with your preconceptions. How long will it take you admit that I'm here because I wish to be here?" said Maelon.

"He wasn't kidnapped. He came here voluntarily to cure the Genophage." said Austin.

Maelon nodded in agreement.

"Impossible. Whole team agreed! Project necessary!" said Mordin.

"How was I supposed to disagree with the great Doctor Solus? I was your student! I looked up to you!" Maelon retorted.

"Experiments performed here. Live subjects! Prisoners! Torture and executions. Your doing?" said Mordin, appalled at the fact that his student would do these things.

"We've already got the blood of millions on our hands, Doctor. If it takes a bit more to put things right, then so be it. I can deal with that." said Maelon coldly.

"Why work with Clan Weyrloc? And how did you get access to the Genophage data?" Austin asked.

"The data was easy to obtain. We all still had clearance. We were heroes. All I had to do was ask. As for the Weyrloc, they were the only clan with both the resources and the commitment." Maelon replied.

"Urdnot has a larger camp than Weyrloc. Why not use them?" Austin asked.

"Urdnot Wrex is too soft. He wasn't willing to do the experiments I needed. It's Urdnot's loss and Weyrloc's gain. Their clan will be the first to recover from the crime we committed." said Maelon.

"Maelon clearly doesn't need rescuing. What do you want to do?" Austin asked.

"Have to end this." said Mordin.

"You can't face the truth, can you? Can't admit that your brilliant mind led you to commit an atrocity!" said Maelon as he pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the group. Before he could do anything though, Mordin punched him and he ended up with hi back against his own console, and Mordin's gun pointed at him.

"Unacceptable experiments. Unacceptable goals. Won't chance. No choice. Have to kill you." said Mordin.

Before Mordin could pull the trigger however, Austin grabbed his arm and pulled it away.

"No! Don't do this, Mordin! I can't let you kill an unarmed prisoner. Helldivers do not let that happen. Besides, you are not a murderer." he said sternly.

Mordin hesitated for severally long painful seconds, glaring at Maleon before he reacted.

"No. Not a murderer. Thank you, Shepard." said Mordin.

Austin let his arm go and he put his gun away. Maelon wiped some of the sweat from his brow in relief.

"Finished, Maelon. Get out. No Weyrloc left. Project over."

"You heard the professor. Best you leave before he changes his mind." said Austin/

"Where am I supposed to go, Professor?" said Maelon.

"Don't care. Try Omega. Can always use another clinic." Mordin replied.

"The Krogan didn't deserve what we did to them, Professor. The Genophage needs to end." said Maelon as he left.

"Not like this." said Mordin. "Apologies, Major. Misunderstood mission parameters. No kidnapping. My mistake. Thank you."

"Don't worry about me, Mordin. How are you doing?" Austin asked.

"Disappointed. Thought Maelon better than that. Never suspected he'd go so far. Knew he was young, impressionable. Should have talked to him after. Gotten him through guilt." said Mordin.

"It's easy to miss someone else's needs when you're in the middle of your own soul-searching." said Austin.

"Went to Omega. Tried to get away. Should have stayed." said Mordin. "Maelon's research. Only loose end. Could destroy it. Closure, security. Still valuable, though."

"If you think it could be useful, then hang onto it." said Austin.

"Worked for years to create modified Genophage. Should destroy this." said Mordin.

"I don't think so. You may not agree with him, but Maelon is right. The Genophage is wrong and it needs to end." said Austin defiantly.

"Maelon's work could cure Genophage. Don't know. Effects on Krogan. Effects on galaxy. Too many variables. Too many variables!" said Mordin.

"If you won't keep it, then I will. I tolerated the fact that you modified the Genophage and I've already been forced to destroy one Genophage cure. I will not do it again! Besides, you regret what the Krogan have become. You see the horror of what they did here, what they're willing to do to undo this mistake, but you see the loss, too." said Austin.

All the while, the Helldiver had his omni tool activated and was making his own copy of the data just in case. He had it behind hi back so that neither Mordin or Tali would notice.

"Wasted potential." Mordin sighed.

"They don't deserve this, Mordin. Save the data." said Austin.

"Point taken, Shepard. Capturing data, wiping local copy. Still years away from cure. But closer than starting from scratch. Done. Ready to go. Ready to be off Tuchanka. Anywhere else. Maybe somewhere sunny." said Mordin as he copied the data and deleted the one on the console. Austin too stopped his own copy and removed it. He wouldn't be needing it.

"Let's get out of here." said Austin.

* * *

Back on the Normandy, Austin checked to se how mordin was doing. He seemed content and was occupying his time with some more work.

"Still hard to believe Maelon betrayed me. Betrayed my work. Disgusted by his actions. Proud of his nerve, though. Always thought he lacked backbone." said Mordin.

"You're really at peace with what happened?" Austin asked.

"Yes. Of course. Can't change what happened. Life continues. Back to mission, back to work. Become like Maelon otherwise. Salarian emotional processing faster than other species. Has to be. Short-lived culture. Can't spend time reminiscing." said Mordin.

"So you really don't feel bad at all about what happened on Tuchanka?" Austin asked.

"Yes, correct. Now, at least. Greatly distressed at the time. Stages of grief. Loss, anger, rationalization. Dealt with it. Most issues settled on Tuchanka. Some on shuttle back to Normandy." said Mordin.

"What about Maelon's data on the Genophage? His attempts at a cure?" Austin asked.

"What about it? Have it over there somewhere. Not dealing with it now. Need to focus on Collectors." said Mordin. "Not important now, regardless. Appreciate you helping me back on Tuchanka."

* * *

**Sorry if I portrayed Shepard as being a bit harsh towards Mordin, but I personally find it appalling that he thinks the Genophage is right and the fact that he keeps trying to defend it. I was even tempted at one point to have Shepard hit mordin for it, but I managed to resist the temptation and changed it to be less harsh. While i may think that way though, I still don't agree with Maleon's methods though, even if his goal was good.**

**Anyway, I don't know when the next chapter will be, but I hope for it to be worth the wait.**

**Look forward to reading your reviews. See you soon!**


	27. Chapter 27, The Ardat-Yakshi

**This is most liekly to be another last one. I doubt I'll be able to get the next one done before Christmas. We may get lucky, but I make no promises.**

**Hope you enjoy this. As a side note, this little early Christmas present does have a return to my sex writing. I've missed 'em.**

**Hope you like it!**

* * *

**Chapter 27**

**The Ardat-Yakshi**

Austin simply lay in his bed thinking about the ring he'd just bought. In his pocket was a small box that contained the engagement ring that he had brought for Liara. He still had no idea when he was going to ask Liara to marry him, but at least now he had the ring if he needed it.

For now, things were pretty calm so Austin decided to have a chat with Samara. He hadn't in a long while and he admitted that he did feel a sort of friendship connection to the Justicar. He found the Asari in her usual spot, still meditating.

"I am glad I joined your team. It has been too long since I travelled with companions. When the time comes, I will do whatever is necessary." She said.

"You're an important part of this crew, Samara." Austin smiled.

"It is my honor. Also, there is a matter I need to discuss." Said Samara as she stood up and walked towards the large window that simply gazed out into space.

"I'm happy to listen." Said Austin.

"When we met on Illium, I told you about a very dangerous person I was pursuing. Using the information you obtained, I have located her. She's been going by the name "Morinth" I would like to apprehend her before she disappears again." Samara explained.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but didn't you say you'd pick up her trail after our mission?" Austin inquired.

"I know where she is – right now. In a month, she may be gone. This is the best opportunity I've ever had." Said Samara calmly.

"Where is she then?" Austin asked.

"Omega. I believe you're familiar with the club called Afterlife – it seems the perfect place for her to hunt." Samara replied.

"What can you tell me about this Morinth?" Austin asked.

"She is an Ardat-Yakshi." Samara replied.

"Ah. Now I see. It makes sense now." Said Austin, understanding immediately.

"You know of Ardat-Yakshi?" Samara asked, a bit surprised that she didn't have to explain to the Helldiver what an Ardat-Yakshi was.

It was true that Austin knew very well what an Ardat-Yakshi was.

 **Ardat-Yakshi** (meaning 'Demon of the Night Winds' in an old asari dialect) was a rare genetic condition in asari, specifically affecting their nervous systems. Although the condition did not harm the Asari, during mating the Ardat-Yakshi's nervous system completely overpowered and dominated that of their mates, causing haemorrhaging in the victim's brain and ultimately death in extreme cases. As a result, the Ardat-Yakshi became smarter, stronger and deadlier after each encounter. Ardat-Yakshi also had the innate ability to dominate the minds of others.

"Yeah. The Helldivers teach us about even them. They kill you by overloading your nervous systems during a Union if I'm correct." Said Austin.

"Yes. This one in particular has been pursued by me for over 400 years. She's even the reason why I became a Justicar." Said Samara.

"All this and that many years just for one person? Sounds a lot more personal than that." Said Austin. It certainly did sound as though this whole thing was a lot more personal for Samara than she made out.

Samara hesitated for a little while before she finally answered.

"You are correct, Shepard. That is because this creature, this… monster. She is my daughter."

Austin fell silent. He had expected Samara to say something more like the Ardat-Yakshi had murdered her daughter, not that it actually **was** her daughter.

"I… I'm so sorry. I didn't realise…" said Austin as he tried to be sympathetic with Samara.

"Do not pity me, Shepard. Simply understand my situation." Said Samara.

"Okay. How do you want to handle this?" Austin asked.

"All I want at the moment is your help, Shepard. Help me find my lost daughter. And kill her." Samara replied.

"We'll go find her. You have my word on that." Said Austin.

"I appreciate it, Major. It pleases me to know that you are always so willing to help your crew." Samara smiled as she sat back down and returned to her meditations.

* * *

Austin remembered of course that he'd promised the engineers that if they ever came by Omega again, he would keep an eye out for some new FBA couplings. Since finding Samara's daughter took priority however, Austin instead instructed the engineers that they would need to do it since he was very busy. Tali of course hadn't argued and had agreed to do the shopping herself. She reckoned she'd be alright since Quarians where more welcomed on Omega than they were on the Citadel.

"Well, well. Look who's back. What do you need, Shepard? I doubt that you're not here on business." Said Aria modestly.

"An Asari fugitive is hiding out here. She's an Ardat-Yakshi. We need to find her." Said Austin.

"I knew it. Nothing leaves a body quite so… empty… as an Ardat-Yakshi does." Said Aria.

"You haven't taken steps to kill her?" said Samara, a bit appalled that the Queen of Omega herself hadn't tried to rid herself of a problem.

"Why would I? She hasn't tried to seduce me. Her last victim was a young girl. Pretty thing. Lived in the tenements near here. That's where I'd start looking." Said Aria.

"Thanks for the help, Aria." Said Austin as he stood up from his seat.

"Good luck finding her. Better luck catching her." Said Aria. "And keep your Varren under control. I'm letting him on-board the station but that's it."

Urz gave a small growl but Samara patted him gently to calm him down.

* * *

Austin, Samara, Alaara and Urz all made their way to where Aria had told them. They to go rather low into Omega's lawless regions, but they met no resistance.

The girl's mother, Diana, let them into her home. She seemed to trust them enough since two of them where Helldivers and the other a Justicar.

"Are you here about my daughter? My Nef died a week ago, and no one seems to care. The medics said it was a brain haemorrhage, but that's not true. It was murder. Someone killed my Nef, my baby." She asked.

"I think she was murdered too, and we're looking for her killer." Said Austin gently. He could see how sad Diana was due to the death of her daughter.

"Oh, thank you! It's so hard when no one believes you. I'm all alone now. Are you… one of Aria's people?" Diana asked.

"I'm here to help. Does it matter who sent me?" Austin responded.

"No one else on this hell-hole station gives a damn that my Nef is dead. If you can do something about it, I'll help you however I can." Said Diana.

"Do you mind if I examine Nef's room? We might find something that can help us." Austin asked.

"I didn't want to disturb anything. Her clothes, her art, her sculptures. Everything is the way she left it. The way it will always be." Said Diana. Her eyes were starting to water and she was sounded like she'd cry any moment.

"My baby is gone. She's gone." She sobbed.

"Hey. It's alright." Austin said as he stepped up to Diana and put his arms around her. She seemed to regain her composure slightly and her voice cleared a bit.

"Thank you. I'm sorry. I just miss her so much." She said, doing her best not to let her voice crack again.

"It's okay. We've all suffered loss. We know how you feel." Said Austin calmly.

"I know what it means to lose a daughter. I will avenge her." Said Samara.

"Thank you. Please, if it helps you find her killer, look through her things." Said Diana.

"We will be respectful." Said Samara.

* * *

Nef's room was the usual sort that was expected from a teenager. There were a few untidy things here and there. There were even a few sculptures as well. Nef was an artist. Samara had said after all that Morinth had always had a bit of a thing for art and sculptures. There was even a datapad picture of a piece of art by the Elcor artist Forta.

Austin found a holo-journal and accessed it.

"Read oldest entry."

An image of Nef herself appeared on the holo-journal's screen as she narrated the entry.

" _Hey, diary. Cycle 34, orbit 671. There's a lot to talk about! I dropped Jaruut's name, and they let me into the VIP room at Afterlife. I was sure everyone was staring at me. Then the most beautiful Asari starts dancing near me. She moves like water; form and volume but shifting, changing. I'm in a trance. Then I'm dancing with her. Later, we went for skewers, and I'm supposed to see her again tomorrow."_

"That sounds familiar." Said Samara.

"Read middle entry."

" _Cycle 36, orbit 671. Am I a freak Morinth is a girl like me, and she's definitely not human. Just… when we dance, and the Hallex is flowing through me… The way she looks at me – with a hunger, a longing… No one's ever looked at me like that. We kissed tonight."_

"Read newest entry."

" _Cycle 42, orbit 67. She's going to take me to her apartment tonight. Whatever happens, I want to be with her forever. She can sell my pieces. We can live somewhere glamorous, like the women in Vaenia, that vid Morinth likes."_

"Huh, what a coincidence. Sandra and I like that vid too." Said Alaara.

" _How did this happen to me? I'm just dumb trash from Omega."_ Nef finished.

"Close holo-journal."

"This is Morinth's work. She is attracted to artists and creators. Someone with a spark, slightly isolated from their peers. She impresses with sophistication and sex appeal. Then she strikes. The hunt interests her as much as the conquest." Said Samara..

"Anyone who's successfully hunted sapient beings for 400 years warrants caution." Said Austin as he petted Urz.

"Morinth speaks to you on many levels. Her body tells yours that she'll bring unimaginable ecstasy. Her scent evokes emotions long hidden. Her eyes promise you things you were always scared to ask of another. Her voice whispers to you after she is done speaking." Samara continued.

"She sounds more like a highly evolve killer than a genetic defective." Said Alaara.

"The condition has been present since our people huddled around fired at night. Perhaps it is symbolic, rather than a defect." Said Samara.

"Storming her den would be a mistake – she will have a hundred escape routes planned." Said Alaara.

"T'onrak is right. Morinth will go to ground and disappear for fifty years or more. This is the closest I've ever been." Samara agreed.

"So we have to lure her out." Said Austin.

"Exactly! Shepard, you read my mind. Afterlife's VIP section seems to be her preferred hunting ground. You must go there alone and unarmed." Said Samara.

"With all due respect, Justicar. Shepard doesn't need to go alone. I can also go in there disguised as a dancer." Said Alaara.

"That is too risky. Morinth will be too suspicious." Said Samara.

"Trust me, Samara. Alaara is very good at this kind of thing. She's an expert in undercover work and her Eclipse training gives her the advantage. Trust me, as long as I don't' try to communicate with her, Morinth won't suspect her. To her, she's just another dancer." Said Austin as he vouched for Alaara's almost unmatched undercover skills.

"Very well. If you believe that she is up to task, I will trust your judgement." Said Samara.

"Time's wasting then. Let's go." Said Austin as he and the others left Diana's house.

"I agree. We can talk more once we're there." Said Samara.

* * *

The club that Nef had mentioned was the VIP section of Afterlife. The door was being guarded by a Turian, but thanks to Nef's journal Austin knew a name to drop in order to get into the club.

"What do you want?" the guard asked.

"What's behind this door?" Austin replied. Obviously he knew, but he felt it best to play this right so that suspicions wouldn't be raised.

"VIP section of the club. For those with the right name. Do you want something?" the guard responded.

"Someone told me the rest of Afterlife is nothing compared to this place." Said Austin.

"Sounds like a smart person. Who was it?" the guard replied.

"Jaruut."

The guard immediately reacted to this and his tone changed.

"Go on in. Word to the wise: start a fight, we'll hurt you. Someone attacks you, it's okay to defend yourself."

* * *

Alaara went in first in her dancer disguise so that it didn't look as though they were entering together. She made saw that Austin saw her first so that he knew which dancer she was. She'd added white markings around her head and had also added some body tattoos just in case she ended up removing her dancer outfit, and given how much she loved sex, that was very likely.

A short while later, Austin was also ready. He'd dressed himself in his off duty mercenary outfit so that he looked like someone who was meant to be there. His scars would only add to it. Before he entered, Samara waved him over.

"Alaara has already gone in. I have informed her of what she needs to do and what I know of Morinth's tactics. Like any predator, she is cautious. You must pique her interest enough that she will approach you. When you are face-to-face, subtly encourage her to invite you to her apartment. I'll follow discreetly and when you are alone, I'll spring the trap." She said.

"Understood." Austin replied.

"Know this, Shepard: until I get these, you are in great peril. She will be planning to inflict horrors on you and may even try to seduce you as well. If you are not careful, you will want her to do these things to you." Samara warned.

"Okay. Let's get started." Said Austin as he took a few deep breaths. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't nervous about this. The thought of an Asari being able to kill with her mind did scare him a bit, not to mention that there were other things that could easily go wrong.

"It is okay to be nervous. Even I am rather tense about this, as is Alaara." Said Samar as she put her hand on Austin's shoulder. That seemed to calm him down a bit. "Just remember, we only get one chance at this. Any mistake, and Morinth will disappear."

Austin nodded and he made his way into the club. Rather surprisingly though, the second he went in, he was stopped by a merc.

"Hey, do you know where to get tickets for Expel 10? I heard this amazing Asari say they were her favourite band. I want… I just want whatever she wants. I got to find tickets! Expel 10 is playing tomorrow." He asked, rather ecstatically.

"I'm afraid not. Sorry." Austin simply responded.

"If you score some, I got creds for you." Said the merc.

Although that had technically been a waste of time, it had at the same time proved helpful. There was no doubt that the Asari that merc had referred to was Morinth so it was clear she loved Expel 10. That little bit of information would come in handy.

Austin proceeded further into the VIP club. It actually wasn't all that bad to be honest. Austin then overheard an argument. He looked to see a Turian arguing with an Asari dancer. Upon closer inspection however, Austin saw that it was in fact Alaara that the Turian was arguing with.

"I said get away from me!" Alaara shouted.

"Don't be like that – I got creds. We'll go back to my place. I got simple tastes." Said the Turian.

"I said back off, you asshole! I'm a dancer, not a hooker!" said Alaara as she shoved the Turian away from her.

The Turian however remained unfazed by this and he simply stood up close to Alaara again.

"You got a mouth on you! I'll enjoy watching you use it." He said.

"The lady asked you to step away." Said Austin forcefully as he pushed the Turian away from Alaara.

"What the hell?! I'm just looking for a good time. This isn't your business!" said the Turian as he walked up to Austin.

This was a very bad move for the Turian as Austin immediately punched him in the face and then the stomach and finally delivered a sharp kick that sent him flying.

"Aaah!"

"Good times are over." Said Austin as he dusted his hands.

"Thanks for that. Security was asleep. If you want a private dance, I'd be more than happy." Alaara smiled as she winked at Austin.

"I'll bear that in mind." Said Austin casually as Alaara left.

Austin continued a bit further and he soon found himself on the dance floor. He figured that dancing wouldn't hurt, and it would help to blend in better. As he danced mostly casually for a while he found himself face with an Asari. Austin doubted that this was Morinth. She didn't look the sort.

"Hey." He said.

"Hey." The Asari replied back.

"I'll dance next to you. If you want to think we're dancing together, go ahead." Said Austin.

"I do want to think that." The Asari replied.

The two danced very well together and the Asari seemed to be smiling at him. When they eventually finished, it seemed he had her approval.

"Thanks for that. You can dance with me anytime." She said.

Austin next made his way to the bar. The bartender took notice of him.

"What'll it be?"

"These are good people, but they look bored. Bored people don't spend much." Said Austin.

"And you got an idea for how I could fix that?" the bartender asked.

"A round of drinks shows that you appreciate their business. Your rep will improve, and you'll make more money in the end." Said Austin.

"Maybe worth a try once. You better be right!" said the bartender. He then addressed everyone in the bar. "Listen up, everyone! We love having you here, so a round of drinks on the house!"

Almost everyone seemed to cheer at this and the bar was soon packed.

"That was a great idea." The bartender smiled as he tended to several other customers.

"Anytime." Austin nodded.

Austin hoped that with most people at the bar, Morinth would be slightly easier to find. At first, though, Austin didn't see anything but then, speak of the devil, was another kind of Asari. There was no doubt that this was Morinth.

She seemed to be dressed in a usual Asari commando outfit and she had rather pale blue skin just like Samara had. A few differences were that Morinth looked younger.

"My name in Morinth. I've been watching you. You're the most interesting person in this place. I've got a booth over here in the shadows. Why don't you come sit with me?" she offered.

Austin nodded and Morinth directed him over to her booth. Within a few moments, Alaara came over to their table.

"Excuse me. You don't mind do you? I need to keep working." She asked.

"Morinth?" Austin asked. It was her table after all, so she was the one to ask.

"I see no harm in it. Knock yourself out." Said Morinth.

"Thanks. I'll put on a good show, I promise. I like doing shows for couples." Alaara smiled as she stepped up onto the table and started dancing. Austin had to keep reminding himself to keep his eyes on Morinth and not Alaara.

"Anyway, some nights I come here and there's no one interesting to talk to. Some night, there's just one person. Tonight, it's you. Why is that?" Morinth asked.

"I know what I like." Austin replied.

"Do you?" Morinth asked.

"What do you think of the music here?" Austin asked.

"Dark rhythms, violent pulses. It stirs something primitive in me. What about you?" Morinth replied.

"Hmm, funny you should say that. I'm rather curious about a band called Expel 10 that plays similar sorts of music. You heard of them?" said Austin.

"Yeah! They get in my head and tear it to pieces. They're in concert soon, maybe we should go together." Morinth smiled.

"We've only just met though." Said Austin. He made sure he said it right though. It was meant to be part of the conversation.

"I feel a bit a connection with you. You've got something about you that I want to know more about." Said Morinth.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Austin smiled.

"I had a feeling you felt it too. You can lose yourself in the music here. There are ways to enhance that. You know?" Morinth smiled back.

"You're talking about drugs, right? I've heard of a particular one called Hallex. Never tried it, but I hear it's excellent." Said Austin.

"It is. It slithers through my soul. Seems like we share some interests." Said Morinth.

"Seems like we do. What about art? You know anything about that?" Austin asked.

"It speaks to the darkest places in me. What about you?" Morinth replied.

"Elcor artist Forta is a personal favourite of mine." Said Austin.

"You're full of surprises. I didn't think anyone around here knew him. He's sublime. Art comes in many varieties. I've seen vids that were more powerful than a sculpture sitting in a gallery." Said Morinth.

"Do you know Vaenia?" Austin asked.

"My favourite. The two actresses on it are so glamorous." Said Morinth. Rather surprisingly, she then started touching one of her breasts. "And you would not believe how many times I've touched myself to the sex scenes. They're that arousing."

Despite the temptation, Austin remained casual, but showed the interest in the tone of his voice.

"Hmm, I'll have to watch it. It sounds like my sort of thing."

"Maybe we could do that together." Morinth suggested.

"Maybe we should." Austin answered.

"Tell me some more. You've got me really interested." Said Morinth.

"Well, I've travelled all over the galaxy." Austin continued.

"It changes you, doesn't it?" said Morinth.

"That it does. Although I'd say that real travel means going to dangerous places." Austin replied.

"Where you can see and do things most people can't imagine." Morinth continued for him.

"Definitely." Said Austin.

"When I travel, I find myself drawn to dark, dangerous places." Said Morinth.

"Violent places?" Austin asked.

"Violence is the surest expression of power." Morinth replied.

"Hmmm, who has the power here then, you or me?" Austin asked suggestively.

Morinth's brow pricked up in interest and she stood up from her seat.

"Well…"

To Austin's surprise, she then strode over to his seat, sat down on his lap and then she put her hand right on where his cock was. He jumped slightly at this, but kept his composure.

"Does that answer your question?" Morinth asked very seductively.

"Undoubtedly, but shouldn't we take this somewhere more private?" Austin responded, also in a rather seductive tone.

"You wanna get out of here then? My apartment is nearby, and I want you alone anyway." Said Morinth.

"Lead the way. Although I'd recommend you keep your hands to yourself for now. I may not be able to keep my own hands off you." Austin smiled.

"Now you're toying with me." Morinth smiled back. She then turned to Alaara who was still dancing, almost oblivious to what was going on.

"We're going now. But thanks for the dance." She said.

"My pleasure. Have fun." Alaara smiled as she watched Austin and Morinth leave. Once she was sure they were gone, she activated her omni tool. "Samara, Morinth's taking Shepard to her apartment. So far, I'd say he played his apart very well."

" _Is Shepard still in control?"_ Samara asked.

"From what I could tell, yes. He should be fine." Alaara replied.

" _Very well. It's best you stay here until Shepard and I come back for you."_ Said Samara.

"I can do that. Good luck. Goddess be with you."

* * *

Morinth's apartment was quite nice. It had a bed, couches and everything. As expected, there were a few pieces of art here and there, including the statue of a Krogan, and even a few trophies of some kind.

Morinth sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to her. Austin sat down.

"I love clubs – people, movement, heat. I can still hear the bass, like the drums of a great hunt, out for your blood. But here, it's muted – and you're safe. Is that what you want, Shepard?" she asked as she very gently put her hand on his leg.

"I don't know. People feel safest right before they die. Wouldn't you say?" Austin replied.

It was very hard to remain casual now and to not suddenly give in. He could already feel something nagging in the back of his head. Morinth was obviously trying something in his head.

"It's true, we're never safe. I've never understood the fascination with safety. Some of us choose differently." Said Morinth as her hand very slowly crawled slight further up Austin's leg. "Independence over submission. I think we share that, you and I."

"You compare us, but you're nowhere near my league. You have seduction power though, and I'd say that's good enough." Said Austin confidently.

"Bold. I like bold. And you're so strong and…" Morinth's hand once again touched his erection. Now that she felt how big he was now, this seemed to arouse her and she smiled. "…arousing. I need this."

Morinth then took his head in her hand and made him look directly at her. Her eyes suddenly rolled over black and Austin suddenly found it very hard to think.

"Look into my eyes and tell me you want me. Tell me you'd kill for me. Anything I want." She said.

"I… I…" Austin tried to say, but he just couldn't' think straight.

Morinth's hand then sneaked inside his trousers and gripped his cock properly. He stiffened instantly to her touch, despite that she still had a glove on.

"You feel this? You feel how hard I'm making you? How much you're body calls to me?" she said seductively.

"I want you. I'd kill for you. Anything you want." Austin said. All other thoughts had emptied his mind. He didn't even know why he was here anymore. All he seemed to care about was her. This beautiful Asari that was currently stroking his cock and wanted to mate with him.

"Good. Now take your clothes off and show me how much of a man you are." Morinth smiled.

Austin obeyed and stood up. He then started stripping himself of his clothes. Morinth relished the sight of this soldier. He was going to be special. She traced her lips with her tongue, as she watched his trousers drop to the floor. She felt herself getting wet, watching his cock trying to break free from his boxers. Finally, Austin finished and sat back down. Morinth's smile widened even more when she saw his erection fully. The sight of it beating and at full length in front of her made her really wet.

"Impressive. Most impressive. Very few humans are as well-endowed as you are." She said.

"Anything for you, Morinth." Said Austin.

Morinth's hand once again reached for his cock and she took it into her hand. She stroked it once or twice before she leant down and took it into her mouth. Austin moaned in delight as the Ardat-Yakshi sucked on him. Her skilled tongue was working wonders on him. She licked around the bulging head do f cock and even at one point licked all the way from the base to the top. The taste and smell of it was proving hard for her to resist. This man was affecting her as much as she was affecting him.

She was the one in control though, not him. She continued sucking as she made his hand go on top of her head and push her down slightly. She allowed a bit of control so that he could make her deep throat him completely. She'd never taken a cock that far into her mouth before, but this time she wanted to. This one was worthy of doing these things to her.

Morinth planted several kisses on Austin's long meat as she looked up at him. She could see the pleasure in his eyes and it only turned her on even more. She could no longer deny the growing heat and wet arousal growing in Azure. Her free hand reached and fondled her ass through her commando suit. It was starting to get rather hot in here and she was very tempting to take it off now.

"So good. You're so good!" Austin moaned as Morinth gave his cock several fast long strokes which made it very hard to suppress his imminent orgasm. The cum creeping up was getting closer.

Morinth gave Austin's cock a tight squeeze and a bit of pre cum oozed out from the tip. The Asari eagerly took it onto her tongue, savouring the taste.

"Hold it in. I'm not done with your cock yet." She said as she once again licked from the base all the way to the top. The short hair around the base tickled her slightly.

Her other hand abandoned her ass and she used a small bit of her biotics to keep her azure and ass occupied while her hand fondled his balls, increasing Austin's pleasure tenfold. She moved her mouth up and now simply sucked very hard on the head, her tongue licking back and forth at the same time.

Austin moaned and gritted his teeth hard. His cock felt it would burst any second. He couldn't hold the cum in much longer.

"Can't hold…. Gonna… gggrrrr! Morinth, please…" he moaned.

Morinth let his cock pop out of her mouth and looked up at the Helldiver

"It's okay. You can cum now." She panted. All this sucking and licking had drained her breath.

Having now been told this, Austin let go and he let the cum spray out of his meat and into Morinth's waiting mouth. Another round shot right into the back of her throat and she swallowed it.

"Mmmmmm. That was good." Morinth smiled.

"I still want you." Said Austin.

"Of course you do. You want all your senses bursting with ecstasy." Said Morinth as she stood up and undid some of the clips on her outfit.

Austin watched and stroked his cock as he watched Morinth's commando outfit glow with biotics and slowly peel off of her body. What was revealed underneath however was a rather surprising sight.

Unlike the usual Asari body, Morinth had some sort of strange black vein things covering her arms, her very large breasts, her body, a bit of her neck and they went all the way down to her feet. While they looked like veins, they didn't' at the same time look as though they were in her skin. They looked like decoration or tattoos. But at the same time, they looked natural. It was rather odd sight. In some ways though, these strange black veins showed her corruption. The only part that didn't have these veins was her face as they seemed to fade away as they climbed up her neck.

Morinth turned so that she had her back to Austin and brought her hands down to her large behind, which also had the black veins growing over it.

"My beautiful ass!" she whispered seductively.

Using both her hands, Morinth spread her cheeks apart to reveal her dripping Azure and puckered hole. Austin couldn't help himself and he reached out and touched the Asari.

Morinth gave a sharp intake of breath as he felt his hands on her bare skin. Her right hand moved over his and guided his fingers to her tight hole. He fondled her ass cheek for a while before he slowly starting to see if he could stick a finger inside.

Seeing where this was going, Morinth spread her cheeks apart as far as she could and braced for a finger being stuck in. She moaned in delight as Austin managed to push one finger in first. The Helldiver slid in and out a few time so that she could get used to it before he then slid out completely and went back in again, this time with two fingers.

"By the Goddess!" Morinth moaned.

Austin pushed all the way in until his fingers disappeared completely.

"Oooooh yes. That's it!" Morinth encouraged him.

The Helldiver upped the pace and kept thrusting his fingers into her ass. After several thrusts, he finally pulled out.

"I want to feel your cock between my tits. Sit back down." Morinth ordered.

Austin did as he was told and sat back down. The Ardat-Yakshi knelt down in front of him and wrapped her large bust around his meat and started moving up and down.

"Oh yes! Your tits are beautiful!" Austin moaned.

Morinth simply smiled at the pleasure she was giving this Helldiver. His wet warm cock felt so good sliding between her tits. The black veins on her body tickled him slightly and only added to his arousal.

"Your cock's so thick and hot. Feels so good between my tits." Morinth moaned soothingly.

"Gonna cum!" Austin moaned as he let loose and a torrent of cum shot all over her tits, her neck and even bathed her face. The Ardat-Yakshi gathered the substance with her fingers and scooped it into her mouth. Very tasty. He ate well.

"On the bed. It's time." Morinth ordered.

Because the Ardat-Yakshi had complete control over him, he didn't even resist in obeying her command and he made his way over to the bed. Morinth lay on it first and then beckoned him over. As Samara had said, her eyes promised him such things that he forgot the world around him.

Almost hypnotised by the Asari's body, Austin climbed onto the bed and was face to face with Morinth. Pleasure started filling Morinth's body as he dug in on her bust, biting her nipples.

"AAHnn YES!" Morinth moaned in the pleasure as Austin kissed her skin and licked at her dark corrupted veins, digging in with his teeth, his tool was brushing against her lower body, spreading pre-cum on her body.

"I want to be with you forever." Austin said. There was a small part of his brain that was attempting to resist this, but Ardat-Yakshi underneath him was just too strong.

The two dove in for a kiss, their tongue's dancing with one another.

"Then take me. Claim me as yours, and I shall join our minds. You think you've known pleasure before, you have no idea." Said Morinth.

Austin lined himself up with Morinth's entrance and he thrust forward. Morinth's control over him didn't make him gentle and he pushed in hard and rough.

"Oh Goddess yes! You're so big!" she moaned.

Morinth's moans only urged Austin on and he kept thrusting hard into her. Morinth's fingers gripped his back hard. Austin pulled back, quickly thrusting in the rhythm of beats from the club. The sound of sex and the dark beats of the music. Morinth was feeling it, her body deriving more and more please. His cock surpassed the limits her body, her body more sensitive than ever had been with any of her lovers. With every thrust into her deepest every inch of her body cried in joy. Austin was giving all his strength, trying to please her body to the fullest.

He was already close, her warm flesh rubbing every inch of his cock with every thrust. His mind was blank, his whole body in a bright have of pure pleasure and lust. Her finger sending sparks throughout his body, moving only on instinct.

Morinth then suddenly flipped them over so that she was no on top and she started grinding her hips as she rode him.

"Oh, you wonderful bitch!" Austin moaned.

"Relax Shepard, and feel the best thing of your life!" Morinth moaned in-between thrusts.

Then something rather unsettling happened. As Morinth's moans intensified with each thrust from Austin, so too did her aggression. Her black veins started to look as though they were throbbing. Morinth placed both her hands on his chest and the veins on her fingers started to grow. The vein extended even past the length of her finger and seemed to continue growing. It was like something out of a horror film.

"Let me cum!" Austin moaned. He wanted to, but he couldn't. Something wasn't letting him.

"Don't cum yet. Just hold on!" Morinth moaned, getting close to her own orgasm.

"I can't! Please…" Austin moaned.

"Yes you can, Shepard! I'm in control of your body now. As long as I don't want you to cum, you can't!" Morinth smiled rather evilly. Her fingers had now practically transformed into 5 inch black claws. At one point, these claws squeezed around his neck. It was only a playfully sexual choke and she wasn't trying to kill him.

He gasped for air as Morinth let go of his throat and she upped her own hip thrusts. She could feel Austin's cock practically swelling inside her, begging to cum. Austin stared onto her body, one of hers hand was playing with her bust, her other had found her clit, pinching her purple nub. She cried out, nearing her second climax. Her whole body was glistening in sweat. Her body was beautiful. His eyes opened wide as time suddenly seemed to stop.

"Cum now!" Morinth moaned.

Both she and Austin threw their heads back as they finally released and Morinth felt his cum shoot all the way inside her.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" The image was ripped away as Morinth screamed her way into an orgasm. Her walls squeezing tightly around his cock as she slammed her body onto him, savouring the feeling.

She opened her eyes looking at Austin. Her body was still shaking lightly. Her eyes still darker than the void.

"That was brilliant." Morinth panted.

"Still want more." Said Austin.

"Of course you do." The Asari smiled wickedly.

She slid off of Austin and then got down on her knees in front of him.

"Cum in my ass and then I will make us become one." She said as she moved her long clawed hand over her ass. She felt the tip pressing against her rear. Austin braced his hand on her body, making sure he wouldn't lose his grip.

"NggaAAAHH!" Austin thrust violently inside her ass, going in hard and deep, her insides forced aside.

Morinth screamed as a wave of pain and pleasure stormed inside her body as Austin fucked her ass at speed, pushing her body to her limits. The Helldiver grunting and moaning got, louder, deeper, erratic.

Morinth straightened herself up so that her back touched Austin's chest. She kissed him as the Helldiver snaked his hands around her body and cupped both her tits in his hands.

"FILL ME UP!"

"AAHHH!" Austin screamed, he was finally there.

Austin gripped her body hard as he started his final thrust. Morinth's mind went blank, his blinded by the overwhelming pleasure waiting to be unleashed. Once more, time seemed to slow, every ripple of her body stimulating every inch of his member. As Austin's eyes registered the side of her face, as her dark eyes glanced him. A part of Austin's mind found a way back to reality as the door broke down, his orgasm taking hold on his body.

"Not bad, Shepard. Now we become one." Morinth said as she took Austin's face into her clawed hands and looked directly into his eyes. "Embrace Eternity."

Right at the last moment though, Austin found that he was in control again. Using all his strength, he kicked the Asari off of him.

"Go to hell, Ardat-Yakshi!" he said weakly.

All the sex coupled with Morinth's mind controlled had drained a lot of his strength.

"But you… who are you?" Morinth asked confused as she slowly got to her feet. Then she realised. "Oh no. I see what's going on here. The bitch herself found a little helper."

Speak of the devil, Samara then entered the room, her body already shimmering with biotics and her stare focused solely on her daughter.

"Morinth!" she said as she activated her biotics and threw her daughter against the window.

"Mother." Said Morinth coldly.

The Ardat-Yakshi's eyes seemed to remain black, but at the same time, the black veins on her neck seemed to start growing. Now they seemed to travel up her neck and now across her face, just stopping at her crest. So it seemed Morinth could control the ones on her face.

"Do not call me that!" Samara shouted as pushed again.

"I can't choose to stop being your daughter, mother!" Morinth growled.

"You made your choice long ago." Said Samara.

Morinth then suddenly unleashed a massive biotic shockwave. As she did, she seemed to emit a rather high pitched terrifying scream. The blast caused Samara to stagger backwards.

"What choice?!" Morinth yelled. The still naked Ardat-Yakshi then hauled Samara up into the air and threw a nearby chair at her. "My only crime was being born with the gifts you gave me!"

"Enough, Morinth!" Samara yelled as she toppled Morinth over with another biotic attack.

The two Asari quickly got back up and both threw attacks at one another at the same time. Both biotics smashed into each other and they were in a lock with each other. The singularity they were both creating was causing objects nearby to float around them.

"I am the genetic destiny of the Asari. But they are not ready to reveal this, so I must die." Said Morinth.

"You are a disease to be purged, nothing more." Samara retorted.

"A disease?! This "disease" as you call it has made me more powerful than any Asari could ever dream of. Shepard knows this, and he wants it." Said Morinth.

"No. I…" Austin tried to say, but he was then interrupted as Morinth's influence once again entered his mind. "Arrgh! Get out of my head, Morinth!"

"Block her out, Shepard. She cannot be allowed to live." Said Samara as she kept trying to overpower her daughter. She was really struggling. Morinth's biotic powers where more powerful than she had thought they'd be. Morinth's black veins where even beating in time with her heart beat and where pulsing fast as she kept manifesting the singularity.

"I have the power to give you pleasure for an eternity. Let me join you. You must choose." Said Morinth, trying to influence Shepard's decision.

"Don't listen to her. I am already sworn to help you, Shepard. Let us finish this." Said Samara.

Morinth's power was starting to prove too much for the Justicar. The singularity was becoming very unstable now due to Morinth's dark biotics. Pieces of Samara's outfit where even being ripped away by the singularities force. Huge portions fell away to expose her azure skin (and even her more private areas)

"I won't let you kill again!" said Austin as he tried to get up.

"I don't' think so." Said Morinth.

Austin was interrupted by the influence in his head making him stand down. All he could do now as watch.

"You'll stay out of the way, Shepard." Said Morinth.

Morinth then let all her powers fuel her next attack and she once again screamed, unleashing a massive shockwave that sent Samara to the ground.

The Justicar tried desperately to get up, but she'd practically exhausted herself. The Ardat-Yakshi stepped up to Samara and sat on her, pinning her to the ground. Samara tried to shake her off, but she was too strong.

"Don't you dare, Morinth." She struggled.

"You are no match for me, mother." Morinth smiled evilly as she took Samara's head into her clawed hands and licked her cheek. Samara was disgusted by this.

"Oh how I have often I have fantasized about this. Not only will your life force be able to feed me for centuries, but your power will make me even stronger." Said Morinth as she prepared to kill her own mother by mating with her.

"No! It cannot end like this."

"Oh, but it can. Goodbye, Mother."

Just as Morinth attempted the connection however, a shout interrupted her concentration.

"NO!"

Morinth looked in the direction only to find a shot heading right out at her. The bullet hit her straight in the shoulder and she was sent flying off of Samara.

"How did you do that? No one has ever resisted me." Morinth winced as she clutched her bleeding shoulder.

Austin very slowly got up with a pistol in his hand. He'd only just managed to regain control again and get to the gun which he'd stored in his outfit.

"Don't ever try to mess with my head! This is the end of the line for you, Morinth."

"And they call me a monster. You're no better!" Morinth shouted as Samara walked up to Morinth and held her down.

"Find peace in the embrace of the goddess." She said.

Samara gave Morinth's neck a violent twist and her neck snapped completely. The Ardat-Yakshi went limp and Samara no longer felt any resistance pushing against her.

She then noticed Austin's weakened state and helped him up as best she could.

"Are you alright, Shepard?" she asked concernedly.

"Yeah. I'm good. Feel like my skull's on fire, but I'm good." Austin said weakly as Samara helped him stand up. The Justicar didn't even seem to care right now that he was still completely naked ad she was partially nude.

"I'm sorry, Samara. I'm so sorry. I should've been stronger." Austin apologised, regrettably.

"It's not your fault, Shepard. Morinth was even more powerful than I thought she'd be. If I'd known how strong she was…" said Samara. "The fault is mine, Shepard. I risked your life to stop her. I nearly went against my code."

"I guess we're both as much to blame." Said Austin. A horrible thought then occurred to him. "And now Liara's gonna kill me for being unfaithful."

"No, Shepard. It's not your fault. You didn't know what you were doing. Morinth made you do it. You're bond mate could never call you unfaithful. Your mind was not your own." Said Samara sympathetically.

"Thank you, Samara. I owe you my life, maybe even more than that." Austin managed to smile.

"I am ready to leave this place and get on with my life. Are you ready to do, as well?" Samara asked.

"Let me just get dressed. Sorry also by the way about…" said Austin, apologizing for his nakedness.

"Do not apologise. It's not your fault. And it is nothing I am not used to." Said Samara, doing her best to suppress a chuckle.

"Right… You might want to change as well, Samara. Morinth's biotics seems to have taken the toll on your outfit." Said Austin as he too indicated to Samara's torn outfit which now practically had her Azure displayed and even had her large tits on display.

Both of them turned their backs to one another as they got dressed. Austin redressed in his own outfit while Samara was forced to take off her own outfit and instead redress in Morinth's commando outfit. It would do until she could back to the ship to repair her usual one.

Rather naughtily, Austin was unable to resist a quick peak at Samara's nude form. Her tits and ass where so large and beautiful. Liara and Alaara would be rather jealous.

"Do you wanna talk about what happened?" Austin asked as he and Samara finished dressing.

"Shepard. What do you think I will say? What can I say? I just killed the bravest and smartest of my daughters. There are no words. I will try another time. For now, show mercy on a broken old warrior and let us leave." Said Samara.

"Okay. Let's go pick up Alaara and leave." Said Austin.

* * *

Getting back into the VIP section of Afterlife was easy. When they entered however, they found that Alaara had obviously got extremely bored during the wait. The entire crowd was gather around the central podium which Alaara was dancing on, completely naked with two other Asari and even a human female taking her from behind with a strap on.

Samara looked extremely surprised by this, whereas Austin was rather embarrassed and he face palmed. He should've expected this.

"Does this often happen?" Samara asked.

"You've no idea." Austin sighed.

* * *

**In case my description of Morinth's black veins might not have been descriptive enough, try to simply think fo them as being similar to Fenris' lyrium marks from DA2.**

**Also, Morinth's scream ability and claws where added in as a reference to the fact that Ardat-Yakshi's become Banshees in ME3.**

**Hope you enjoyed that. It was fun to return to doing a sex scene again. With any luck, I may have one more chapter done before the 25th, if not... Merry Christmas!**


	28. Chapter 28, A very busy day

**Happy new year everyone! It's nice to be back.**

**I made sure that I didn't stay away too long this time and I already had this mostly completed before Christmas. I just didn't finish it in time. Now though, it's done and out of the way. So for anyone who was expecting Garrus' mission in the last chapter, here it is.**

**Next one will be Thane's mission and then I plan to maybe do another original mission after that which will be based on the multiplayer in ME3. It'll basically have Alpha Squad once again encountering the Collectors, only this time on an Alliance colony. A bit of Red Vs Blue will also serve as influence for it. Once that's done, will focus on the last two, Jacob and Jack's. (Legion and Tali's missions will be after the derelict Reaper)**

**Hope you enjoy this. Hope to see you soon. 2013 is likely to be busy for me as I'm fairly certain that I'll be writing ME3 this year.**

**Little bit of warning, there is a bit of nudity near the end of this chapter. No sex or anything, but still...**

* * *

**Chapter 28**

**A very busy day**

Austin simply waited patiently. He was pretty sure that another member of the team would notify him about a personal mission very soon. He hoped though that would be now rather than later. Today was the day that Dell's wife, Uthenra was coming aboard the Normandy for her wedding anniversary with her husband and daughter. Arrangements had already been made for the Normandy to dock at the Citadel and for Uthenra's shuttle to dock there too.

Just as Austin was debating on whether he should give the crew some shore leave, EDI's avatar appeared in front of Austin's deck.

"Let me guess, EDI. Someone wants to talk with me?" he asked.

"Yes. Mr Vakarian would like to see you when you have a moment, Shepard." EDI replied.

"Garrus?" Austin asked, this time with concern.

"Yes. He recently received a message that got him extremely tense." Said EDI.

"Tell him I'll be down right away." Said Austin as he quickly got up from his chair.

* * *

Garrus was at his usual post in front of the forward batteries. He immediately acknowledged Austin as the Helldiver entered.

"Shepard. I'm glad you came. I've got something I may need your help with. You remember Sidonis? The one who betrayed my original team? I've found a lead on him." He said. "There's a specialist on the Citadel; name's Fade. He's an expert at helping people disappear. Sidonis was seen with him."

"Then where do we find Fade?" Austin asked.

"I've arranged a meeting. We'll meet him in a warehouse near the Neon Markets, down on Zakera Ward. Thanks, Shepard. I appreciate you taking the time to help me." Said Garrus.

* * *

The Citadel was mostly busy as usual. Garrus knew specifically where the meeting was, so they didn't need to worry about asking Bailey where Fade might be. As they neared the place however, Austin overheard a rather strange argument.

There was a Volus and a Quarian who seemed to be arguing with one another. A C-sec officer looked like he was trying to sort it out, but he wasn't doing a good job.

"This clanless is a thief, and I want her arrested!" said the Volus angrily.

"What?! I was just walking by!" the Quarian objected.

From the look of her suit, and the sound of her voice, the Quarian was a young woman on her pilgrimage.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying to take a statement here." said the C-sec officer as Austin stepped in to try and settle this.

"There's nothing to talk about! She stole my credit chit. Arrest her!" said the Volus.

The Quarian however still objected.

"I did not! Just because I'm a Quarian-!" she yelled.

"I need you to stop and take a breath." the officer said.

"You're mocking me, Earth-clan! Just because the Vol-clan need-" said the Volus.

"It was a poor choice of words, sir. I apologize." the officer quickly interrupted.

"You say you're falsely accused?" Austin asked the Quarian, whom his suit identified as Lia'Vael.

"I was walking to the used ship dealer when he barged into me outside the Sirta Foundation. He didn't stop or say he was sorry. A minute later, he runs up with C-sec and accuses me of stealing his damn chit!" Lia explained.

"Maybe the chit simply fell out when you bumped into each other?" Austin suggested.

"I guess. Sure. All I know is, I didn't take it." said Lia.

"Do you spend a lot of time at the used dealer?" Austin asked.

"Yeah. They've got a lot of nice models. I'd like to buy one and take it back to the Fleet, but…" said Lia, but she hesitated at the last bit.

"Your Pilgrimage isn't going well, is it?" Tali asked sympathetically.

"No. I—I came here thinking there'd be a lot of work. EVA stuff. Salvage. Fixing all the damage the Geth attack caused. Everywhere I went to apply, signs said "Not hiring Quarians." And the other people would give me mean looks." Said Lia.

"Do you know who's telling the truth?" Austin asked the officer.

"My omni-tool can tell the Quarian doesn't have a chit on her. But she could have stashed it to recover later. You know what Quarians are like. And she's definitely a vagrant. I'll run her in and see what Bailey wants to do with her." He replied.

Tali however did not take kindly to this and immediately objected.

"The hell you will! She's not a vagrant. She's on Pilgrimage. It's tradition in which-"

"Look, you can take your traditions and cram them. Every time a Quarian shows up here, it's trouble." The officer interrupted.

"He's right. You can't turn your back on these clanless Quarians. Thieves, all of them." Said the Volus.

Tali looked just about ready to hit the Volus and stood right up to him. She looked down on him due to his small size.

"Quarians are only forced to steal when people like you won't let them have real jobs." She said.

"And to think my taxes pay to support you here. Go back to your fleet, clanless." Said the Volus.

"I am clan Zorah, crew of the starship Neema. And you are an idiot." Said Tali.

"My first instinct was to help you. But I don't like your attitude." Said Austin as he crossed his arms. If this guy was constantly going to discriminate the Quarian, why side with him. He could even be just trying to get Lia arrested simply because he didn't like her.

"I don't like the company you keep." Said the Volus.

Austin nearly lost his temper with that one and he glared down at the Volus, his hand curling up into a fist. The Volus seemed to notice this and he did shiver slightly. Pissing off a Quarian was one thing, pissing off a Helldiver however was very different. They had certain restriction freedoms that normal citizens didn't have.

"Do I look like I'm looking for your approval? No!" said Austin very coldly.

"Hey! Both of you, calm down." Said the officer. "Kor Tun, I know you're upset, but that's no excuse to insult everyone around you."

"My brain agrees. My gut says I should jack his suit's olfactory filters so that everything smells like refuse." Said Tali.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." Said Garrus, trying his best to hide the laughter in his voice. Admittedly, even Austin found it hard to suppress a little chuckle at that. Perhaps he could get Tali to do that behind her back so the Volus wouldn't see.

"Are you sure you didn't leave your chit at the Sirta Foundation?" Austin asked the Volus.

"Of course not! You think I'd make a mistake like that?" Kor Tun objected.

"I certainly do." Said Tali.

"I didn't even buy anything there. The chit stayed in my pocket." Said Kor Tun.

"I'll see if I can find out what happened." Said Austin.

"Sir, this is a C-sec matter. We'll do all we-" the officer said before Kor Tun interrupted him again.

"Bah!"

"All we can do to resolve this. We don't need civilian help. If you do happen to find the chit, please let one of our officers know." He finished.

Austin decided to start at Saronis Applications, since it was the closest shop. It was being run by a Salarian.

"Welcome to Saronis Applications. Can I interest you-" he said, but he stopped as soon as he saw Austin properly. "Ah! Shepard!"

"Do I know you?" Austin asked, slightly confused.

"No, but I know you. Even a senile Hanar would remember the Helldiver who fought off the Geth! I thought you were dead?" said the Salarian.

"Yeah. I've been getting that a lot. Let's just say that news of my death was… rather premature." Said Austin.

"Please, look around the store. It's a pleasure to have you here." Said the Salarian.

"A Volus was in here not too long ago. Did he drop a credit chit?" Austin asked.

"Oh! Yes. He bought some environmental system drivers, then left without his chit. I didn't notice he'd left it until he was already gone. If you see him, tell him I have it here behind the counter." Said the Salarian.

"Thanks for your time." Said Austin.

That had been very quick, but at least now they knew where the credit chit was and it proved that Lia was innocent and had been falsely accused.

"Please move along." Said the officer.

"You forgot your credit chit at Saronis Applications. The clerk is holding it for you." Austin said to Kor Tun.

"Oh. Well. The Quarian could have stolen it." Said the Kor Tun.

"I'll close this event report." Said the officer. He then turned to Lia "But I'll be watching you. Get a permanent residence, or I'll run you in for vagrancy."

"Are you two serious?!" said Austin.

"What?" said Kor Tun.

"You falsely accused this girl of stealing from you. All you have to say now is that she "could have" stolen it?" said Austin angrily as he gave Kor Tun a rather hard push which was so hard it made him fall flat on his backside.

"Now just a min-" Kor Tun tried to say.

"Shut up!" Austin interrupted. He then stood back up and seized the officer by the throat. "And you. She gets harassed and insulted by this guy, and you throw in a threat to arrest her for vagrancy?"

"How about I run you in for obstruction of justice?" the officer threatened.

"Sure… if you want a dissolved head." Austin responded as he activated his shoulder cannon and it's targeting laser aimed right at the officer's head. "Besides, you're gonna "run in" a Helldiver Major, and a former Spectre? I think both of you should get out of here."

Austin let the officer go and both he and Kor Tun reluctantly left.

"Son of a…"

Lia was left rather lost for words as she watched the two leave and she then turned back to Austin.

"Thank you. I—I wish I could give you something more than words." She said gratefully.

"What the hell was that C-sec guy's problem? He had no evidence that you did anything wrong." Said Austin.

"I don't know. Everyone's been like that since I got here." Lia replied.

"The Citadel has never been tolerant of Quarians on Pilgrimage. The Geth attack two years ago must have made it worse." Said Tali.

"Are you going to be okay?" Austin asked.

"I guess. I have somewhere to stay, so I should be alright." Lia replied.

"Good luck, Lia'Vael." Said Tali.

"Thanks, Tali Zorah." Said Lia.

Now that this incident had been taken care of, they could get on with Garrus' mission.

"This looks like the place." Said Garrus as they arrived at the warehouse where Garrus had arranged to meet Fade. Inside, there were two Krogan bodyguards. Then rather surprisingly, a Volus came out from behind some crates.

"Fade? You're not how I imagined you." said Austin.

"Looks can be deceiving." said the Volus. "So... which one of you wants to disappear?"

"I'd rather see you make someone reappear." Garrus replied.

"Ah... that's not the service we provide." said the Volus.

"Make an exception. Just this once." said Garrus as he pulled out his gun and pointed it at the Volus.

"Damn it! Quick... shoot them..." the Volus stuttered.

Before the two Krogan bodyguards could react however, Austin and Ventra both shot them in the head and they fell dead.

"Too slow." said Ventra as he holstered his bow.

"Why do I even bother?" the Volus sighed in annoyance.

"We're looking for someone. A client of yours." said Austin as he stepped right up close to the Volus who now looked up at him in fright.

"Not mine. I'm not Fade, I just work for him. Sort of." he said very quickly.

"I knew it." said Austin.

"Well then maybe you'd like to tell us where to find him." said Garrus.

"Yes. Of course. He's in the factory district, works out of the old prefab foundry." said the Volus.

"I know the place." said Ventra.

"Uh... he's got a lot of mercs there... Blue Suns. Harkin thinks they're protecting him." the Volus continued.

"Harkin?!" said Garrus in shock.

"How did Harkin become the Fade? Last time I met him, he was too drunk to even walk." Austin asked.

"Well, he got fired from C-sec for drinking on the job. But he still knows the system. He used his knowledge of C-sec to make people disappear, then he made himself disappear." the Volus explained.

"Interesting. But it changes nothing. We still need to find him before we can get to Sidonis." said Garrus.

"Well then, let's go pay Harkin a visit." said Austin as he cracked his knuckles.

"We'll need to go to the transit station. I can get us to him from there." said Ventra.

"So I... I can go?" the Volus asked nervously.

"Sure, but if we don't find Harkin, we'll be back for you." said Garrus.

"Oh good." the Volus breathed a sigh of relief as he left.

* * *

The trip towards the factory district was long due to the size of the Citadel, but it was comfortable. Garrus remained unusually quiet during the trip and so did Ventra. Austin had decided to swap Tali with Sarah and so the N7 marine was now accompanying them. The sky car finally settled down and everyone got out. Sure enough, there were several Blue Suns mercs and Harkin himself.

"There he is." said Austin.

"Shepard?" said Harkin in shock.

"Hello, Harkin. How's the neck?" Austin taunted.

"Don't just stand there... stop them. Stop them!" Harkin ordered as he fled while the Blue Suns took cover.

"Run all you want, Harkin! We'll find you!" Garrus yelled.

Shots flew all over the place, as did arrows. The Blue Suns mercs of course barely managed to land a shot before they fell.

"Harkin's going to regret this!" said Garrus as they carved their way through mercs and mechs.

* * *

Almost an hour passed as they fought wave after wave of Harkin's hired thugs. Ventra in particular was actually enjoying this and had even said that he'd never had so much fun using his bow in a long time.

Eventually though, they managed to catch a break and found themselves in what looked like the final room before they found Harkin. In the room ahead was a lot more containers, and a lot of them where placed up high. Very good places for the enemy to hide, and also very good vantage points.

"What is Harkin up to?" said Ventra.

"You both worked with Harkin at C-sec?" Austin asked.

"Yeah. He was a pain in the ass back then, too. But I'm in no mood for his games. If he doesn't cooperate, I'll beat him within an inch of his life." said Garrus.

"You seem to be getting tense, Garrus." said Ventra concernedly.

"Harkin may know why Sidonis wanted to disappear. If so, he knows why we're here and I don't want him tipping Sidonis off." said Garrus.

They observed the room in front of them a bit more. For a brief moment, they saw something in the distance move.

"Did you see that?" Garrus asked as they all went into cover and out of sight.

"I saw something." said Austin.

"He's getting ready for us." said Sarah as she unholstered her N7 Typhoon.

"Let's not disappoint then." said Ventra as he took another bow from his back and drew the string on his bow back.

"We're right behind you." Said Austin.

As soon as they entered, they were blocked by several more mechs and a few other Blue Suns heavy's. Ventra managed to shoot a few down with some arrows, but even he had to get into cover eventually had to go into cover with the others.

Harkin had attempted to try and delay them by raising up several of the platforms. It hadn't worked to well of course. All they had to do was climb over the edges.

"Aw crap!" Garrus swore. "Two heavy mechs incoming!"

Sure enough, overhead where two Heavy mechs being brought in on cranes.

"Do you really think you can take me down, Shepard?!" Harkin taunted.

"Ventra, take the one on the left down!" Austin ordered.

Ventra immediately complied and aimed an arrow at the crane carrying one of the mechs. He fired and the crane blew apart in a small explosion. The still folded up mech dislodged from the crane and fell to the ground. At first it looked as though it would fall on the other mech, but it instead hit the ground near the mech instead.

The mech was momentarily distracted, but quickly turned back to the Helldivers. Ventra was quick to react however as he pressed one of the buttons on his bow. The arrow heads inside his quiver where quickly changed to EMP ends instead of the usual spear heads he used. He quickly drew the arrow back and let it fly.

The arrow lodged itself straight in the mechs head and it spasmed violently as the electromagnetic pulse fried it's systems.

"You'll never make it!" Harkin yelled as he raised up several sections of the floor to try and cut off all access to him. Despite this though, he only ended up making easier for them since the left side had formed into stairs.

Austin indicated to the other side. Garrus simply nodded as he understood.

* * *

Harkin looked around trying to see where they'd got too; it looked as though his trick of raising the floor had worked, but his moment of relief was short lived as the door to his right opened to reveal Austin, Sarah and Ventra. All of them had their weapons trained on him.

"You were close, but not close enough." he said.

Before he could head for the door however, he found his face instantly meeting with the butt of Garrus' assault rifle. He clutched his nose in pain as the Turian pinned him against the wall.

"So, Fade... couldn't make **yourself** disappear, huh?" said Garrus.

"Come on, Garrus - we can work this out. Whaddaya need?" said Harkin, doing his best to remain calm. He knew how aggressive and forceful Helldivers would get when it came to interrogations.

"I'm looking for someone." Garrus replied as he gently allowed Harkin to be released again.

"Well, I guess we both have something the other one wants." said Harkin.

Garrus however was in no mood for that sort of answer and he kneed Harkin in the crotch very hard. Austin could help but wince slightly at that.

"Ouch. That had to hurt. Maybe you should just tell us what we need to know." he said.

"Maybe. I still haven't heard what you want." Harkin groaned in pain as he slowly got up.

"You helped a friend of mine disappear. I need to find him." said Garrus.

"I might need a little more information than that." said Harkin.

"His name was Sidonis. Turian, came from the-" Garrus explained before Harkin interrupted him.

"I know who he is, and I'm not telling you squat!"

"Is this information really worth all the trouble? This doesn't have to get hard and be a repeat of last time." said Sarah.

"Screw you, Shepard." Harkin retorted.

"Say that to my sister again and I'll break your nose!" Austin threatened.

"I don't give out client information. It's bad for business." said Harkin.

Just as he finished however, Garrus knocked him against the wall, threw him to the floor and then put his foot down on the human's neck, pressing down slowly, but very hard.

"You know what else is bad for business? A broken neck!" said the Turian.

"Alright! Alright! Get off me!" Harkin chocked.

Garrus hesitated for a long while before Austin put his hand on the Turian's shoulder and he calmed down.

"Terminus really changed you, huh, Garrus?" Harkin coughed as he got his breath back.

"No, but Sidonis... opened my eyes. No arrange a meeting." Garrus ordered.

"I'm going." said Harkin.

He walked up to a console and activated it. "Yeah, it's me. There's a chance your identity may be compromised."

The reply came in the form of an odd buzzing sound. Obviously designed for secure channels.

"That's why I'm calling. I'm sending an agent. Where do you wanna meet?" Harkin replied back.

More of the buzz followed as Harkin listened.

"Alright. They'll be there. Don't worry - I got it covered." he said. He then finished and turned back to the three Helldivers and N7 Marine who'd been waiting.

"It's all good. He wants to meet you in front of Orbital Lounge. Middle of the day. So, if our business is done, I'll be going..." he said.

Before he could leave however, Garrus grabbed him by the collar.

"I don't think so. You're a criminal now, Harkin."

"So what... you're just gonna kill me? That's not your style, Garrus." said Harkin.

"Kill you? No. But I don't mind slowing you down a little." said Garrus as he aimed his gun at Harkin's leg.

Harkin thought at first that he was going fire, but the Turian then lowered his weapon. Harkin's breath of relief however was short lived as Garrus stepped aside and Ventra pulled an arrow out of his quiver and fired it right into Harkin's knee.

Harkin screamed in pain as he fell to the floor again, clutching his bleeding knee which now had an arrow sticking right out of it, and a bit of bone since the arrow had snapped it completely.

"Maybe give C-sec a blood trail to follow." Garrus finished.

"Bastard!" Harkin swore in pain.

That however was then met with a swift strike in the face from the back of Austin's hand.

"You're getting off easy, Harkin. Just be thankful that he let you live." said the Helldiver.

"What did I ever do to you?" Harkin replied.

"Sidonis better be there, or I'm coming back to finish the job." said Garrus.

"And look at it this way. You'll be able to say the phrase "I used to be the fade... then I took an arrow in the knee." said Ventra.

He and the others then left, leaving Harkin on his own.

* * *

The sky car gently touched down, but no one got out yet. They were waiting for Garrus to tell them what to do. This was his mission after all.

"Harkin's a bloody menace. We shouldn't have just let him go. He deserved to be punished." said the Turian.

"I'm getting a little worried about you, Garrus. You were pretty hard on Harkin." said Austin.

"You don't think he deserved it?" Garrus replied back.

"Maybe, but it's just not like you." said Austin.

"What do you want from me, Shepard? What would you do if someone betrayed you?" Garrus replied back, a bit more forcefully this time.

"I'm not sure, but I wouldn't let it change me." said Austin.

"I would've said the same thing before it happened to me." said Garrus.

"It's not too late. You don't have to go through with this." said Ventra as he put his hand on Garrus' shoulder.

"Who's going to bring Sidonis to justice if I don't? No other Helldiver, but me, knows what he's done. Nobody else cares. I don't see any other options." said Garrus.

'Let me talk to him." said Sarah.

"Talk all you want, but it won't change my mind. I don't care what his reasons were, he screwed us... he deserves to die." said Garrus.

"I understand what you're going through - but do you really want to kill him?" Austin asked.

"I appreciate your concern... but I'm not you." said Garrus.

"This isn't you, either." said Sarah.

"Really? I've always hated injustice. The thought that Sidonis could get away with this... Why should he go on living while ten good Helldivers lie in unmarked graves? I'm sorry, Shepard. Words aren't going to solve this problem. I need to set up." said Garrus.

He looked around for a brief moment before indicating to a certain spot.

"I can get a clear shot from over there."

"You just want me to get into position?" Austin asked.

"Not you. It'll have to be Sarah. If Sidonis sees two Helldivers he'll panic and flee. I may never find him again if that happens." said Garrus.

"Understood." Sarah acknowledged.

"Keep him talking for a minute. When I've got him in my sights I'll let you know. Give me a signal so I know you're ready, and I'll take the shot. You better go, he'll be here soon." said Garrus.

The Turian left the car and it continued to ground level. Garrus meanwhile unholstered his sniper rifle and got into position.

"Sarah, can you hear me?" he asked into his comlink.

"Loud and clear." Sarah replied as she exited the sky car. Austin and Ventra stayed behind so they'd be out of sight.

Garrus scanned the area until he finally saw his target. Sidonis was sat on one of the benches and waiting nervously.

"All right. There he is... wave him over and keep him talking." he said.

Sarah got Sidonis' attention and he came up to her.

"Let's get this over with." he said.

"You're in my shot. Move to the side." said Garrus.

"This won't take long at all." said Sarah as she reluctantly moved to allow Garrus to aim.

"You one of Harkin's people? I don't remember seeing you before." Sidonis asked.

"That's it. Just keep him talking a few more seconds." said Garrus.

"I was told Harkin was one of the best. This better not happen again." said Sidonis.

Sarah was now conflicted. Should she let him do it, or try to reason with him? It was a tough call. The same sort of thing had happened to the unit she'd led on Krelldoor, only she hadn't wanted revenge since Shadow had already died. Still, this Turian had betrayed not just Garrus, but the Helldivers in general. It really was a tough call for her. What would her brother do in this situation? As soon as she asked herself that question though, the answer just seemed to come to her.

"Listen, Sidonis. I'm here to help you." she said.

"Don't ever say that name aloud." Sidonis whispered.

"I'm a friend of Garrus. He wants you dead, but I'm hoping that's not necessary." said Sarah as she did her best to stay in Garrus' shot and prevent him from firing.

"Garrus? Is this some kind of joke...?" Sidonis asked in surprise.

"Damn it, Sarah. If he moves, I'm taking the shot." said Garrus.

"You're not kidding, are you? Screw this. I'm not sticking around here to find out. Tell Garrus I had my own problems..." said Sidonis.

As he turned to leave however, Sarah immediately stopped him.

"Don't move." she said.

"Get off me!" Sidonis shouted as she made Sarah let go.

"I'm the only thing standing between you and a hole in the head." said Sarah.

Sidonis now knew that a sniper was watching him.

"Fuck." he swore. "Look... I didn't wanna do it... I didn't have a choice."

"Everyone has a choice." Garrus retorted angrily.

"They got to me. Said they'd kill me if I didn't help. What was I supposed to do?" said Sidonis desperately.

"Let me take the shot, Shepard. He's a damn coward." said Garrus.

Sarah however kept stalling. Austin would most likely have done the same in her place and it was him after all that had taught her to see the good in other, even if they didn't show it.

"That's it? You were just trying to save yourself?" she said.

"I know what I did. I know they died because of me, and I have to live with that. I wake up every night... sick... and sweating. Each of their faces staring at me... accusing me. I'm already a dead man. I don't sleep. Food has no taste. Some days, I just want it to be over." said Sidonis regrettably.

"Just give me the chance." said Garrus. He now sounded hesitant however.

"You've got to let it go, Garrus. He's already paying for his crime." said Sarah.

"He hasn't paid enough. He still has his life." Garrus snarled.

"Look at him, Garrus. He's not alive... there's nothing left to kill." said Sarah.

"My men... they deserved better." said Garrus.

"Tell Garrus... I guess there's nothing I can say to make it right..." Sidonis sighed.

Garrus hesitated a while longer before he finally spoke again.

"Just... go. Tell him to go."

"He's giving you a second chance, Sidonis. Don't waste it." said Sarah.

"I'll try, Garrus. I'll make it up to you somehow." said Sidonis. "Thank you. For talking to him"

* * *

"I know you want to talk about this, Shepard... but I don't. Not yet." said Garrus as he re-joined the others. Austin and Ventra had seen everything.

"I know it didn't go the way you planned, but I think it's for the best." said Austin reassuringly.

"I'm not so sure..." said Garrus.

"Give it time." said Ventra reassuringly.

"Yeah. Maybe that'll be enough. I want to know I did the right thing. Not just for me - for my men." said Garrus. "They deserved to be avenged. But when Sidonis was in my sights... I just couldn't do it."

"The lines between good and evil blur when we're looking at people we know." said Sarah.

"Yeah. There was still good in him... I could see it. It's so much easier to see the world in black and white. Grey... I don't know what to do with grey?" said Garrus.

"You've got to go with your instincts." said Austin.

"My instincts are what got me into this mess." said Garrus.

"Don't be too hard on yourself." said Sarah as she patted Garrus on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Shepard. For everything." said Garrus. "Let's get going. I need some distance from this place."

* * *

Today was a very big day.

Today was the wedding anniversary of Dell and Uthenra Arturus, and she was coming aboard very soon.

Austin had insisted that the ship be cleaned an awful lot and be tidied up for her arrival. From what Dell had told him of her, she was a rather insistent woman. While she would prefer the extra effort put in though, she'd still approve regardless.

Nevertheless, Austin wasn't taking any chances. The cargo hold in particular had been given a lot of cleaning and Sill had spent nearly all day getting all her welding finished early so that she could help with the cleaning.

Some of the other members of the crew had been a bit cross with having to do some of the work, but they hadn't complained. Austin had also advised the crew and the team that they treat the day as any other. Austin was a bit concerned about some of the less social crew members.

After nearly two hours, things were looking good. The Normandy now looked factory fresh and the entire cargo bay looked cleaner than it ever had. For now, there was nothing left to do now but wait until Uthenra arrived. The Normandy was currently still docked at the Citadel so that Uthenra's shuttled could dock at the same place and she would have no trouble getting on board.

Austin spotted Sill currently hanging upside down from the ceiling and appeared to be just adding one or two very last minute finishes to her welding work. She appeared to have earphones in and was listening to some sort of song.

 _"We're caught in a trap! I can't work out... because I love you too much, baby!"_ she sang along.

"Sill? Sill!" Austin called.

Still no reply. It was like to trying to get the attention of a young teenager. Then again, Sill pretty much was that, despite her age.

 _"We can't go on together... with suspicious minds!"_ Sill continued singing.

"SILL!" Austin yelled.

Fortunately, that was enough for the young Arkane to hear and she stopped welding and removed her earphones.

"Oh, sorry." she apologised as she slowly hopped down from the ceiling using her harness. The way she moved was quite impressive. She had this grace, almost like a gymnast and she seemed very agile.

Sill finally settled back on the ground and unclipped her harness.

"Where'd you learn to do all that exactly?' Austin asked.

"I do it as another hobby. When I was a little girl I was... well, quite energetic. For a while, I did gymnastics in order to stay fit." Sill smiled.

"I'm looking forward to meeting your mother. From what you and your father keep telling me about her, she sounds like a very fine person." said Austin.

"I'm more nervous to be honest. It's not that I think she won't like you and your squad; I'm just worried what she might think about the non-Helldiver crew. Some of them are a bit..." said Sill.

"I know what you mean." Austin finished. "I'm worried about Urz."

"I don't see why. As far as I know, mom has nothing against Varren. Urz is trained and he's also quite tame. I'm sure it'll be fine." said Sill reassuringly.

"Well, I hope so. And I think we'll find out very soon. Her shuttle docks in a few hours." said Austin as he looked at his omni tool's watch.

* * *

All was in order. Nothing now but to simply wait until Uthenra arrived. Austin and the rest of the crew where simply waiting patiently for Dell and Sill to return with Uthenra since they had gone to the shuttle ports to meet her. Austin admitted he was nervous, but at the same time he was rather excited about meeting her. Dell and Sill had always spoken very highly of her and he knew how respected Uthenra was as a teacher. In fact, all the alien members of Alpha Squad had been taught by her, except for Liara and Garrus of course.

"Nervous?" Austin asked Liara who was sat next to him.

"A bit, but not much. I'm sure she'll be very nice to meet." the Asari replied.

"I think she'll enjoy meeting you too. She knows the stories about me and I'm sure that she'll encourage a relationship like ours. She wants all species to work together after all. A romantic relationship is even better." said Austin as he held his girlfriend's hand.

"Are you trying to put me in a good mood for something? If you wanted an evening with me, you only had to ask." Liara smiled.

"Actually I was wondering if you were interested in another duel perhaps. It's been a while since our last one." Austin replied.

Liara was a bit surprised by this at first, but it wasn't in an unwelcome way. Austin was right after all. They hadn't sparred together for weeks now since last time. It wouldn't hurt to do another one.

"Okay. I don't see anything wrong. Can we have something a bit more romantic though for the setting though? Be nice to take our minds of things and just to think about our love." Liara asked.

"I don't see anything wrong with that. In fact, I think I might have just the right location. We'll do it later today after Uthenra leaves." said Austin.

Liara simply smiled and planted a kiss on her bond mate's cheek. At that moment, EDI then appeared out of the CIC panel.

 _"The Arturus' are at the airlock."_ she said.

"Okay. Just act natural, everyone. Treat this day like any other." said Austin as he took a deep breath.

The door slowly opened and Dell and Sill stepped in. They were then quickly followed by Uthenra herself.

The female Arkane wore an extremely long dress or robe of some kind unlike her husband and child. What was visible of her skin showed that her skin tone was a much darker green than Dell's was. Despite her mantis appearance, she did have a rather beautiful look to her. The mandibles on her mouth also didn't seem to chirp like a lot of Arkanes did. She'd obviously found a way of keeping a straight face.

Uthenra looked around the Normandy with a very curious and interested look on her face. She looked quite keen to look around and see where her husband and daughter where working.

"This is main deck which is where the CIC is." said Dell as though he were giving a tour.

"An interesting use of co-development." said Uthenra as she looked at Arkane and Alliance designs that had been incorporated into the Normandy. She then saw Shepard and Liara.

"And I don't think any introductions are necessary, wife. I'm sure you know who this is." said Dell.

"The great Major Austin Shepard. I've heard a lot of about you." said Uthenra.

"A pleasure a meet you finally, Miss Arturus. Dell and Sill have told me a lot about you." said Austin warmly as he shook Uthenra's hand.

"Hmm, I'm sure they have." Uthenra smiled.

"So... happy wedding anniversary, I guess." said Austin.

"Thank you, Shepard. And thank you for allowing me to come on board for it. It means a lot to all three of us." said Uthenra.

"So, shall I leave you three to it? No doubt you will want some time just to yourselves." Austin asked.

"We would like that. Although I wouldn't mind talking with you later. Perhaps you could join us for dinner?" Uthenra offered.

"I... Okay, I don't see anything wrong with that." said Austin.

* * *

Since their guest would be mostly occupied until dinner, Liara and Austin decided instead to move their sparring to now rather than after Uthenra had left. Austin had told the crew that they could have shore leave on the Citadel. All of Alpha Squad and most of the crew would naturally be at their special private room there, so that ship would mostly be empty apart from a few crew members that chose to stay.

Neither of the two bothered with using their armour for this sparring match, even though they would be using the simulator again. Liara was wearing a thin, but tight fitting Asari commando outfit which seemed to match the exact same one she'd worn for a brief time on the original Normandy before finding a proper set of armour. Austin meanwhile had stuck to something similar and had topped it off with a hoodie. He'd though about wearing his N7 one that he'd been given by Sarah a few years back, but decided against it in case it got torn.

Liara was already doing a small bit of practicing when he arrived.

"Shall we then?" he asked.

Liara nodded and Austin began keying the location and such into the simulator. Within seconds, the large arms hummed into life and the familiar sight of the Normandy's cargo bay disappeared. In its place, assembled the stunning views and vistas of none other than the Asari homeworld Thessia.

Liara looked at Austin with a happy surprise on her face.

"Well, you said you wanted somewhere peaceful and romantic." Austin shrugged.

Another environment then started building around the couple and soon they found themselves in a very familiar place.

"Our home?" said Liara in amazement.

They were inside a simulated replica of the home that Liara had been left by her mother. The two had stayed there a few nights after Benezia's funeral.

"Brings back a few good memories doesn't it?" Austin smiled.

"That it does." Liara smiled happily. To the Helldiver's surprise, she then unzipped her suit ever so slightly to reveal some of her cleavage, which her outfit did so little to hide due to her large breast size. Austin did his best to not get distracted by it.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Consider that a small reward for making me happy. Want some more? You're gonna have to fight for it." Liara smiled naughtily as she went into a fencing stance.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Austin smiled back as he drew Excalibur from his belt and also went into a fencing stance.

He attacked first. This time he didn't hesitate on being gentle. Liara had already proven to him in their last fight that she could wield a blade just as well as he could, and he had also put the damage restriction on for this session. All that did was prevent any serious harm or injuries. It only affected organic matter however, so things like weapons, objects and clothes could still be torn or destroyed.

Liara blocked each swing and strike and parried the last one as she pushed it aside with her own sword. Quite impressive.

Austin gave a nod as he acknowledged that Liara's skills had certainly improved a lot now. Not that he had doubted her; she had after all fought two Cerberus Phantoms single-handedly with her sword.

The two did nothing for a long while and simply circled one another. Austin gave a small grin as Liara once again went into a fencing stance. She couldn't help but grin back though as they once again clashed blades. Due to some of the furniture and other things in their home, it wasn't easy to avoid knocking into things and tripping over them. Liara seemed to gain the upper hand and pushed Austin back against the wall. She attacked and attacked until she finally got an opening and she swung. The tip of the Asari's sword put a very long tear in on the left side of Austin's hoodie.

Liara gave a rather smug smile and remained in a fencing stance as Austin looked at the tear in his hoodie and indicated it to Liara.

"Nice attack. Shame though, I rather like this hoodie."

Liara just simply shrugged as she continued smiling smugly.

Not wanting to cause any more tears in the hoodie, despite that it wasn't his favourite, Austin threw his sword into the ground so that he could take it off. Liara got the message and allowed her lover to remove his hoodie. She sort of did the same and using her own sword, which had once belonged to Austin before he had received Excalibur, to cut away the arms on her commando outfit. She didn't care about the outfit being torn or ruined. She'd worn it right now for that exact reason. Austin was unable to resist staring at Liara's exposed flesh.

"Eyes up here, Austin." Liara smiled. "You where the one who told me to never take your eyes off your opponent."

"That I did. And yet you too can't stop staring at my face." Austin smiled back.

"I chose a very handsome man as my bond mate." Said Liara.

"Perhaps even a future husband?" Austin asked suggestively.

"Maybe. All you need do is ask." Liara replied.

"I made a promise, and one day I'll honor that promise. But for now, we still need to remain focused on stopping the Collectors." Said Austin.

"When that day does come, I'll make sure we both remember it forever." Said Liara.

"Anyway, shall we continue?"

Liara nodded and Austin took Excalibur into his hand again and pulled it out of the ground. Liara instantly attacked first and sparks flew as their swords connected once again. It was almost as though both swords seemed to regard one another as twins. After all, they had both been used by the same master, the only difference was that Excalibur had been used a lot longer than the training sword had and it was even more special due to its Kartalrium forged blade and the fact that it's master's own name was inscribed upon it.

It was only a belief, but Austin had at times thought that perhaps Excalibur was special. It wasn't like a normal sword. Austin had used it for more than an entire decade and the sword had practically endured all sorts of things that would be hell for normal swords. It had even survived his re-entry into that planet when he had died. It was actually starting to be strange. Was the blade really forged from Kartalrium, or was it something else? No metal in the galaxy, not even Kartalrium, was known to be able to survive entering a planet's atmosphere.

Austin however simply pushed these thoughts aside and let his mind shift back to Liara as he continued blocking her attacks and attempting some of his own. Blade struck against blade as both opponents tried to land another strike on one another.

Liara went for a low lunge at Austin, but the Helldiver parried it almost instantly. Liara however twirled around on the spot and attempted another lunge as she once again faced Austin. It was only a few strikes however, before Austin caught her off guard and managed a low swing at her chest. There a was a faint ripping sound as Excalibur cut through Liara's outfit and there was now a long cut across one of her breasts. It hadn't been deep enough to cause a cut, so Liara wasn't in any pain from the strike.

She looked down at the long opening across her breast and then back at Austin.

"Not bad." She smiled. Austin also smiled rather cheekily at what he'd done.

He then did his own parry and both he and Liara ended up in blade lock with one another. It was up high at first, but Austin then moved it to waist height. Both he and Liara simply looked at one another, they were both close enough to kiss.

"Not bad at all." Austin smiled slyly.

The Helldiver then pressed his lips right against Liara's and kissed her. The Asari was really taken back by this and pushed Austin off.

Austin simply chuckled as Liara once again attacked and he blocked. Liara however had been rather unfocused by the kiss and she let a small bit of aggression fuel her attacks which Austin was able to turn to his advantage. He managed to make another carefully executed lunge which made another tear in Liara's commando outfit. This time, it was around the arm section and it was on the same side where he had cut across her breast. A piece across Liara's shoulder fell away and she now had a whole part of her shoulder and part of her breast exposed.

Austin couldn't help but grin at his work, but this only seemed to make Liara all the more competitive. She attempted another lunge, but Austin only grabbed her blade and pulled her right up close to him. She struggled but to no avail as Austin once again pulled her into a kiss.

The Helldiver once again chuckled as he let Liara go.

Now Liara put even more aggression into her strikes and she was even able to surprise Austin when her hardest strike knocked Excalibur right out of his hand.

The Helldiver backed away slightly as Liara kept her sword trained on him. He didn't want to accept defeat that easily. However, that didn't change the fact that he was now unarmed, and Liara wasn't. Despite this though, he acted casual.

"This will make it more difficult." He said, as he tried to figure something out. "Liara…"

But the Asari refused to back down and she once again went into a fighting stance with her sword pointed straight at him. Austin however knocked it aside and ran to grab a large ornament of the wall. Since it wasn't real and just part of the simulation, Austin didn't need to worry about Liara disapproving of it. After all, she knew that part of Helldiver training was to use the surroundings to their advantage if they could.

Liara lunged several times, but Austin was able to block each attack with the ornament. Liara lunged again, but this time, Austin had enough time to bring the ornament into just the right place for Liara's sword to get trapped. The Helldiver quickly seized the opportunity and pulled. Liara's grip wasn't tight enough and the sword slipped out of her hands.

Without a weapon, Liara ran to pick up the only other weapon that was available, Excalibur. Just as she went to grab the handle however, a foot stood on the blade.

"I don't think so." Said Austin as he pointed his blade at Liara and forced her to gently stand up.

Liara couldn't really see any other way she could get out of this without cheating. She could of course use her biotics, but she knew that her bond mate often disapproved of an unfair sword fight.

"Don't move." Said Austin as he stepped back slightly.

Liara was rather confused by this bit. What was he doing?

Austin simply looked at Liara's outfit. Oh how tempting it was to do what he was thinking. He knew that his bond mate would most likely never forgive him for this, but in the end, he just couldn't help himself.

Liara simply watched as Austin made several swipes with his sword at her. Despite this though, they didn't seem to hurt her at all. All that could apparently be heard was the sound of several light tears.

Austin stood back slightly and admired his work. Liara was left rather confused. As far as she could tell, nothing had happened. Her thoughts however where interrupted when there was a loud ripping sound and the entire upper portion of her outfit fell off of her body in rather small pieces.

Liara immediately gasped in shock and rather hurriedly picked up the blanket that had been laying on the bed in an attempt to cover her now exposed breasts. As the Asari turned back to face her boyfriend, she found him right up close to her. She did her best to keep her cool though. To be honest, she was incredibly embarrassed that Austin had managed to strip her with her own sword.

"Do you surrender?" Austin chuckled as he stared into his girlfriend's eyes. Being this close to her always did spark something in him.

"Never." Said Liara. "But I may scream."

"I understand. Sometimes I have that affect." Said Austin, somewhat seductively.

"Prove it then." Liara smiled. "Kiss me."

Austin didn't even hesitate and both he and Liara kissed.

* * *

**I fancied doing a more romantic duel this time. The beginning of the next chapter will also feature a bit more of Uthenra since I plan for to have a role in ME3 as well.**

**Also, anyone notice the Skyrim line? I found it too hard to resist since Ventra uses Archery and I'd been looking for an appropriate place to include it.**

**Hope to see you soon. My college course begins again next week, but that hopefully won't slow me down.**


	29. Chapter 29, Sins of the Father

**Hi there. Here's Thane's mission. Like Samara's, this one was much easier to do than the others since it didn't have gunfights. It also had plenty of bits that I had a lot of fun changing. The interrogation in this mission in-particular I think you will really like.**

**In addition to that, there's a bit more character development here and there, and I've even made a small new move now. Right at the end of this chapter is a conversation with Liara that's supposed to be in ME3. However, I have moved that into this story for a rather good reason, which I think some of you might have figured out. And then there are some who have asked, and I have told. I don't mind answering questions that give away story changes after all. I lie to hear feedback for them in advance. Trust me, it does really help.**

**Anyway, enough of my chit chat. On with the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 29**

**Sins of the Father**

Dinner was ending up being a lot better than Austin had thought. The day was drawing to a close, but Uthenra was still on board. She'd been particularly keen to learn of Austin's relationship and had even said some very encouraging things. Though she had a lot of love for interspecies relationships, that didn't mean she didn't regret marrying Dell. She loved him dearly and she couldn't have asked for a better husband and daughter.

All that was at the table was just the Arturus', Austin, Liara, and also Urz who was tucking into his own meal just slightly further off. Despite Austin's concerns, Urz had been extremely well behaved and the Varren continued to impress. He was very well house trained, and he also had surprisingly good table manners, especially considering since the meal he was eating right now was a rather large piece of juicy meat. He wasn't making any mess at all. Everyone had mostly finished their meal by now and where mostly talking. Urz had also finished and was currently sat at Austin's side.

"Where you always a teacher, Uthenra?" Austin asked as the ship's cook Rupert Gardner collected everyone's plates.

"Not at first. I didn't really start that until I married Dell. Before that, I was originally a simple study of human ways. It was part of the start of my training, as I wanted to learn more about this fascinating new race that had recently been found out about. That evolved slightly further when I met Dell."

"Hmmm, wasn't an easy one though." Said Dell.

"Indeed. I met him on the College steps and I knew it wasn't going to be easy. He was studying engineering and science, and I was studying human English literature." Uthenra smiled as she and her husband remembered their somewhat humours first meeting.

"That's right. I was trying to explain the theory of relativity, and Uthenra was trying to explain Tennyson." Dell chuckled.

At this, Uthenra couldn't' help but giggle.

"I still don't understand what he was talking about." Dell finished.

"Oh come on…" Uthenra laughed.

"I'm serious. Tennyson is more complicated that advanced science and engineering. It's like a Helldiver clashing with a Krogan." Said Dell.

"You studied Tennyson?" Austin asked, somewhat keen as he remembered that a really old friend of his loved that sort of thing.

"It was more a hobby than a study, but still." Said Uthenra.

"My friend Ashley Williams would definitely like you. She has a thing for a poetry."

"Your childhood Alliance friend? Interesting…" said Uthenra. "Have you two spoken since…? well, I think you get what I'm trying to ask."

"We've managed to sort it out. It did take a few talks and a fight with an insane Cerberus assassin, but we sorted it out in the end." Said Austin. "In fact, she's even started a relationship with one of my squad."

"An Alliance marine and a Helldiver? That's an interesting new combination." Said Uthenra. "Anyway, enough about us. What about you? I hear a bit of talk around your ship that you and Doctor T'soni are… intimate."

Surprisingly, Liara was ahead of Austin on answering that. Most likely, she knew Uthenra wouldn't approve. Perhaps the Arkane reminded her a lot of her mother who also wanted to try and help form alliances with other races, work out peaceful solutions."

"Austin and I are bond mates." She said.

Uthenra was surprised by this, but pleasantly so.

"Nice to hear. Is it more than that perhaps?" Uthenra asked.

"Well, there have been talks of marriage from what I've heard." Said Sill.

Both Austin and Liara simply remained silent and shrugged at one another.

"With all due respect, I feel that's a bit of a personal matter." Said Dell.

"Yes of course. Forgive me. Sometimes my curiosity can get the better of me." Uthenra apologised.

"It's alright. You're not the first ones to ask about it. For now, we're just taking it easy and making sure we're focused on stopping the Collectors. After that, we'll maybe try and focus more on the future of our relationship." Said Austin.

"Well then, I'd say that's worth drinking to. Wouldn't you agree?" Dell asked as he raised his glass. "To our future."

Everyone else did the same.

"To our future!"

* * *

It seemed that Thane was next one the loyalty mission list. Kelly of course had reported this too him and he had ventured down to life support to speak with the Drell.

"Kelly told me you wanted to see me. Is something wrong?" Austin asked.

"You could say that. My morality has me… dwelling on other things." Thane replied.

The Drell stood up and walked over to the one of the weapon stand he'd set up.

"I had a family, once. I still have a son. His name is Kolyat. I haven't seen him for a very long time."

"How long has it been since you talked?" Austin asked.

"Ten years He showed me some of his schoolwork and asked if we could dance crazy. We did that when he was younger." said Thane.

"What about the rest of your family? Did something happen to them?" Austin asked.

"Oh, not all at once. Nothing dramatic. No sneaking out in the middle of the night. No final argument or slammed door. I just… did my job. I hunted and killed across the galaxy. "Away on business," my wife would tell people. I was always away on business." said Thane, a small hint of regret in his voice.

"You never mentioned this before. Why now?" said Austin.

"When my wife departed from her body, I—attended to that issue. I left Kolyat in the care of his aunts and uncles. I have not seen him or talked to him since." Thane replied.

"That's not the choice I expected. Why didn't you raise him yourself?" Austin asked.

"My body is blessed with the skill to take life. The Hanar honed them in me. I have a few others. I didn't want that life for Kolyat. I hoped he would find his own way. If he hated me, so be it. He would not have shared the path of sin. I used my contacts to trace Kolyat. He has become—disconnected. He does what his body wills." Thane replied.

"You'll have to explain that one to me." said Austin, slightly confused by what Thane had just said.

"Disconnected. The body is not our true self. The soul is. Body and soul work as one in a Whole Person. When the soul is weakened by despair or fear – when the body is ill or injured, the individual is disconnected. No longer Whole." Thane explained.

"What's wrong with him exactly? Is he hurt?" Austin asked.

"Something happened that should not have. He knows where I've been, what I've done. I don't know his reasons, but he has gone to the Citadel. He has taken a job as a hit man. I would your help to stop him. He is—This is not a path he should walk." said Thane.

"Well, on the plus side, you timed this well. We're still docked on the Citadel, so we can go right now if you wish." Austin suggested.

"Thank you, Shepard."

* * *

"According to C-sec, a Drell recently passed through customs. The C-sec office may have more information." said EDI as Austin, Sarah and Thane departed the Normandy. In all the times Austin had been here since he came back from the dead, he'd been surprised how people didn't seem to notice him. Maybe it was because they were more used to seeing Helldiver here now. Or it could simply be that they weren't noting him because he didn't want them to. Helldivers where just somehow able to do that, pass unseen by most if they choose.

"Shepard. How can I help you?" Bailey asked.

"My associate is trying to find his son. We think a local criminal may have hired him." said Austin as Thane stood next to Bailey, keeping a calm expression. Sarah simply stood behind her brother.

"This should be easy. We don't see many Drell here." said Bailey as he typed away at his console. Within a few seconds, he found what he was looking for. "There we go. One of my men reported a Drell recently. And he was talking to Mouse. Interesting."

"Mouse?" Thane asked.

"A petty criminal. Probably not the guy who hired your boy, but a messenger. He's a former duct rat, runs errands for anyone who'll pay." Bailey explained.

"What sort of trouble has Mouse been getting himself into?" Austin asked, somewhat curious.

"Odd jobs for shitty people. Duct rates take whatever's available to get by. Data running. Fencing stolen goods. Selling illegal VI personalities. Actually, he was selling one of you." Bailey replied.

"Me?"

"Yeah. When you erased a file, it would say, "I delete data like you on the way to real errors. Buggy, though. It crashed every half hour. The error message was about how the galaxy was at stake, and you should fix the problem yourself." Bailey explained.

"That's pretty extreme, Austin." Sarah giggled.

"Laugh it up, Sarah." Austin smiled. "Anyway, where do we find Mouse?"

"Mouse is usually upstairs, outside the Dark Star. He works out of a public comm terminal. You should pick up a copy of the "Shepard VI" when you talk to him." said Bailey.

"I don't think so. I'm not allowing him to use my likeness without my permission. Surprised the Arkanes haven't tried to have him arrested for it." said Austin.

"A shame. Thought you'd like a VI of yourself." said Bailey, he then turned to Thane. "It sounds like your boy's running with the wrong crowd."

"Yes. I agree." Thane nodded.

"If Mouse can't get you in touch with your son directly, he'll know who can. I'll help you if you need it." said Bailey.

"You hardly know us that well, Bailey. Why are you going so far to help us?" Sarah asked.

"I've worked Zakera for two years. Every day, kids turn to crime because they've got no other choice. Because their parents don't care." Bailey replied "You're trying to save yours." he said to Thane.

"…He faces a dark path." Thane replied in agreement.

"We better hurry then." said Austin as he and the other two left.

"You didn't tell him that Kolyat plans to assassinate someone." said Thane once they were out of earshot.

"He's a cop. He'd try to stop Kolyat, and one of them could end up dead. We don't want that." said Austin.

"Yes, of course. Thank you, Shepard." said Thane.

* * *

While the rest of Zakera ward was very nice, Austin still felt he preferred the Presidium. That had a more... beautiful and peaceful feel to it. As the group tried to see where Mouse was, Sarah suddenly heard someone call the name Shepard. Austin heard it too. They both looked in the direction of the voice to see a rather unwelcome sight.

"Oh no. It's her again." Austin muttered as he quickly activated his cloak and vanished from sight.

"Didn't think you were scared of reporters." Sarah joked.

"Not scared, avoiding unwanted attention is the more appropriate phrase." said Austin as he the reporter walked up to Sarah. Mercifully, she hadn't seen Austin.

"Khalisah bint Sinan al-Jilani, Westerland News." she said as he held out her hand, only for Sarah to not shake it and simply cross her arms.

"Do I know you?" the N7 marine asked.

"I tried to interview your brother 3 years ago, when he first became a Spectre. He outright refused to be interviewed, made a lot of humans question what the Council was hiding, and then he want to that Emily Wong instead." said Khalisah.

"Is there something you want? We're busy." said Sarah, telling Khalisah to get to the point.

"There've been rumours that your brother may still be alive. Do you have anything to say on that?" Khalisah asked. Only now did Sarah notice that Khalisah was recording.

"What, so you can try and do another smear job on him? I know what you're like." said Sarah.

"Now… Shepard - you may object to my methods, but we're on the same side. Rumours are that he's back, and that's news. I just want to give his story its due." said Khalisah. "Sources claim that you and he were at the heart of the Presidium during that Battle of the Citadel. It's fair to say that the course of the battle hinged on his words. If true, you told Admiral Hackett to assist the Destiny Ascension, costing hundreds of human lives and securing the continued dominance of the Citadel Council."

"I don't have time for this. People die, we don't' have time for this crap!" said Sarah as she turned to walk away. As she did however, she suddenly felt someone grab her arm.

"Oh no! You're not gonna walk away like he did!" said Khalisah.

"Don't you dare touch me." said Sarah as she whirled around and punched her very hard in the face.

Khalisah slowly got up, rubbing her now black eye and bleeding nose.

"You bitch! I'll make sure everyone in the Alliance sees that!" she spat.

"Well, good luck with that, Khalisah. I think you're camera stopped recording." said a voice.

Khalisah turned to see Austin de-cloak right in front of her. She backed away in fright until she was right up against the wall.

"I… my god! It's really you. The rumours are true." she stuttered.

"You listen carefully. Everyone in the 5th Fleet and Helldiver fleet that died during that battle is a damn hero. The Alliance owes them all medals. The Council owes them a lot more than that. And so do you. Don't you dare suggest I made that call lightly!" Austin berated as he stood right up close to Khalisah.

"I wasn't trying too…" Khalisah tried to say, but Austin interrupted her.

"And don't you try to pin any of this on my sister. You ever come near her again and I'll have a bullet waiting for you. I don't even care if I lose my career for it. You and the press should learn to mind you own damn business."

The two Shepard's left Khalisah as she took several deep breaths to try and calm down, a look of guilt was on her face. Most likely she'd learned her lesson.

After a bit more searching, they finally find the man they were looking for, Mouse.

"Yeah. Sure. I can get you two cases by the end of the day." he said as he finished a call.

"You Mouse?" Austin asked.

"What do you- oh, shit! Krios? I thought you retired!" said mouse as he turned around and saw them. "Captain Shepard?!"

"Major, actually." Austin corrected.

"I thought you died! There were rumours that you were alive, but I never… What do you want with me?" Mouse asked.

"Be still, Mouse. You can change your pants in a moment." said Thane calmly as he put his hand on Mouse's arm.

"How do you know Thane?" Austin asked.

"Krios? He didn't-? Uh. If he didn't say nothing, I ain't either." said Mouse.

"When we heard the name, I didn't think it could be the same Mouse. He was a contact on the Citadel when I was active. He and some other children would gather information on my targets." Thane explained.

"You put children in danger for you?" Austin asked in surprise.

"Children. The poor. My people's word for their kind is "drala'fa":the ignored. They're everywhere, see everything. Yet they are never seen." said Thane. He then seized Mouse's collar, obviously to say that he and his friends meant business.

"You gave another Drell instructions for an assassination. Who's the target?" he asked.

"I… I don't know. I didn't ask. Cause the people I work for? They can make me disappear. I'd like to help you, Krios. You always done right by us, but I ain't gonna die for you!" said Mouse.

"Kid, we've made people much more important than you disappear. Whoever you're protecting isn't worth it." Said Sarah.

"I… You wouldn't hurt me." said Mouse bravely, he still sounded nervous though.

"Do we have to?" said Sarah challengingly, Austin however put his hand in front of her, obviously telling her to calm down and be a bit more peaceful.

"Krios, man. I did good work for you. You gave me chocolate. Real chocolate." said Mouse.

"I never gave my own son chocolate." said Thane regrettably.

"I remember, whenever you talked about your kid, your eyes got like that. Like they was someplace sad. He had that holo you took of me, you know. That's how he proved who he was. But when he turned it on, his eyes got like yours do." said Mouse. He turned his back for a moment before he finally turned back. "The guy I carried for is Elias Kelham."

"One other thing. That Shepard VI you're selling?" said Austin.

"Oh, shit. You hear—Look, you were dead! It was totally legal to make a VI of you." said Mouse defensively.

"I don't care whether it was legal or not! I'm not dead any longer and I'm not giving you permission to use my likeness. You're gonna stop making them right now." said Austin forcefully.

"But they're selling so well…" Mouse tried to say.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me clearly. Stop making them or Kelham will be the last of your problems." said Austin, slightly more threatening this time.

"Alright. Alright. I'll stop making them." said Mouse.

"You did good, kid." said Sarah.

"Yeah, right. When Kelham finds out what I've done, I won't live long. And I can't do nothing about it but hide." said Mouse.

"You won't be mentioned. Kelham will never know it was you." said Austin.

"I hope so." said Mouse as he left.

"Let's head back to Bailey."

* * *

"Yes?"

"Can we talk about my associate's son?" Austin asked.

"You talk to Mouse? Did you get the name of the guy he's working with?" Bailey asked.

"Elias Kelham." Austin replied.

"Kelham? Shit." Bailey swore. "Ah, look. This is awkward. Kelham and I have a—an agreement. He doesn't cause too much trouble, and "buys tickets to the C-sec Charity Ball" from me. In return, I ignore him."

"He pays you off? C-sec is being bribed. Does the Citadel Council know about this?" said Austin, not even making any effort to hide how appalled he was to hear that C-sec was being bribed to ignore a certain someone who obviously was trying to cause trouble.

"Are you threatening me, Shepard?" said Bailey, standing his ground.

"No. But I don't care if you have a deal with him either. He's obviously a criminal and you should take him in. You're either gonna arrest him or I'll take matters into my own hands. What's it gonna be?" said Austin.

"I said I'd help. It's just – There'll be repercussions if I don't handle it right. He and I… give each other space. It keeps the peace." said Bailey.

"Him hiring an assassin keeps the peace? Didn't C-sec learn anything for the Geth attack?" said Sarah.

"I'm not gonna argue with you about this, Shepard. I'll get some of my people to bring him in and set up in a private room. You can interrogate him yourself I'll stay out of sight. If I'm lucky, Kelham will believe that I had nothing to do with it." said Bailey.

"Bring him in. We might not have much time." said Austin.

"I'll make it happen. Wait here."

* * *

A few minutes later, some of Bailey's men came with a man in their arms. He was finely dressed, so there was no doubt this was Kelham.

"We've got Kelham. Tell Bailey we're ready." Austin said to one of them.

Bailey arrived shortly after.

"He'll expect me to get him out of this." he said.

"Not anymore, I think." said Austin.

" _Captain? His lawyer's here. Bet Elias has his VI set to page him if C-sec gets within ten metres."_ Austin overheard from Bailey's earpiece.

"I'll stall him. Get in there. And work fast." said Bailey.

"We should question him together. Keep the pressure on. Thoughts on how we approach it? The good cop bad cop routine, as you humans call it, would be best." Thane suggested.

"Maybe. But Kelham's probably a bit too smart for something like that. I might have something better in mind…" said Austin.

* * *

"Get me out of these restraints, Bailey! Pretty funny, bringing me down here like this-" said Kelham as he struggled to break free of the chair he was tied too. The door then opened.

"The hell are…" he said, but he stopped when he saw who Austin and Thane had with them. Austin had a chain in his hand which attached to the collar of none other than Urz, who was actually looking a bit hungry. Kelham started to get rather nervous as Austin brought one end of the chain through a small ring on the wall so that Urz didn't get too close to him. The Varren was now eyeing him keenly and looked as though he wanted to get at him.

"You ordered a hit on someone. You're gonna tell me who." said Austin.

"The only person I'm talking to is my advocate." said Kelham.

"You're advocate hasn't arrived. We're trying to find him." said Thane.

"Here's how it works. I ask a question, you answer it, and my Varren doesn't eat you. He's rather hungry you know." said Austin. As he spoke, he let some of the chain slip out of his hand, allowing Urz to step a tiny bit closer.

"And that's supposed to scare me?" Kelham laughed. His laughter however was short lived as Austin then let a very large portion of the chain slip through his fingers and Urz ran at the chair. Austin took hold again and Urz stopped, but he was now close enough to put both his front paws up on the edge, and right at Kelham's feet.

"Pay attention! Varren are much stronger than humans. One hard pull, and he'll start eating." said Austin.

"Nice scare. You just handed me your job. Let that filthy thing near me again and I'll take your money too." said Kelham.

Urz didn't' seem to approve of this and growled very fiercely at Kelham.

"Easy, Urz." said Austin calmly. "I'd watch your mouth, Kelham. Urz doesn't like being called a "thing"."

"You're in over your head. Bailey won't let you touch me." said Kelham.

"He's done with you. How long did you think you could lean on C-sec officer before someone leans back?" said Austin.

"Oh right, Bailey's a Hanar – still waiting to evolve a spine." Kelham laughed.

"I believe his exact words were, "Do whatever it takes to make him confess." said Thane.

"Man, you guys are terrible at the good cop, bad cop routine. It's like bad cop, even worse cop." Kelham chuckled.

Once again, Austin let more of the chain slip and Urz edged a bit closer. Kelham did have to admit he was starting to get a bit nervous. He was slowly seeing that this Helldiver wasn't joking around.

"And then there's the cop that will actually kill you if you don't cooperate."

"You know what I do to you when I get out of here?" Kelham threatened.

"Keep it up, tough guy. When my Varren's done with you, he won't leave enough of you to be buried in a soup can!" said Austin.

"Go to hell!" Kelham shouted back.

"You first."

A bit more of the chain slipped. Urz once again got closer.

"Still doesn't scare me. I know you're not gonna let go of that chain." Kelham laughed.

Both Austin and Thane turned their backs to him. So far, this was taking a bit longer than expected.

"We're running out of time. Bailey can't stall his advocate forever." Thane whispered.

"Are we done here? Because I got people to see." said Kelham.

At that, Austin decided to take this to the extreme. To Kelham's utter shock, he quickly unsheathed his combat knife and cut the chain completely. Urz immediately reacted and leapt right on top of Kelham, his jaws inches from the human's face.

"Agh! No! Get it off me!" Kelham nearly screamed.

"I'm done being patient! Give me a name, or I'll order Urz to bite your balls off and then I'll sell them to a Krogan. He can have the rest of you." Austin demanded.

"Alright! Just… please tell him to get off! He's trained, right?" Kelham practically begged.

"Stand down, boy." Austin ordered.

Urz complied and hopped off of the chair and simply sat next to his master. Austin slipped him a small bit of Pyjak meat as a treat, which he ate happily.

"Now tell me. Next time I won't be so merciful." said Austin.

"Joram Talid. Turian running for office on the Zakera Ward. He messes with legitimate businessmen. I'm gonna stop it." Kelham panted as he tried to calm down from the shock.

"Where and when?" Thane asked.

"His apartment. The 800 blocks. You better hurry-" Said Kelham.

At that moment, the door suddenly opened to show Kelham's lawyer.

"What going on here? Get away…" he said, but was interrupted as Urz ran at him and barked, causing him to step back.

"Urz, sit!" Austin ordered sternly. The Varren instantly obeyed and came back to his master's side.

"You- You played me!" Kelham shouted.

"Thanks for the info, Elias. I'm sure you'll feel better in jail. Regardless of what Bailey might say, he **is** done with you. I ran your name through Helldiver channels. You're on their list. Now there's enough evidence for an arrest. You and your advocate will need a shovel the size of the Citadel to dig your way out of that mess." said Austin as he, Thane and Urz left.

"Bastard! When I…" Kelham shouted, but his advocate interrupted him.

"Elias, as your legal advocate, I advise you shut the hell up. As much as I hate to admit it, he's right."

They walked out to find Bailey and Sarah waiting for them. Sarah patted Urz on the head and the Varren purred happily.

"What's the story? Why did Kelham hire the boy?" Bailey asked.

"Assassination. A Turian named Joram Talid. You know him?" Austin asked.

"Joram? Yeah. You might have seen his posters around. He's promising to end organized crime on the ward. Thing is, his message is all mixed up in race politics. He's ant-human." said Bailey.

"Are things so bad that people can openly campaign as anti-human? That's pathetic!" said Austin.

"Before the Battle of the Citadel, the alien population thought we were violent upstarts. Look what's happened since then. A human fleet guarding the station for months because the Helldivers are on bad terms with the Council. C-sec filled with more humans. Anderson and a few others do what they can, but some people have lived on the station since before humans had starships. They see it as a coup." said Bailey.

"When you put it like that, I can't say I blame Kelham for wanting him dead." said Austin.

"Maybe, but that still doesn't' make it right." said Bailey.

"True."

"Sergeant! Get a patrol car. These two need to get to the 800 blocks." said Bailey as he turned to one of the guards.

"Yes sir!"

"Sarah, would you mind taking Urz back to the ship?" Austin asked politely as he and Thane followed the guard. Sarah simply nodded and attached Urz's proper lead onto him before leading back to the Normandy.

* * *

The 800 blocks seemed a lot darker than Zakera Ward. A lot of good places to hide.

They could see Joram in the distance talking with some of his voters. He had a Blood Pack Krogan as his bodyguard.

"There he is. How do you want to play this?" Austin asked.

"Follow Talid on the maintenance catwalks. Tell me what he's doing. The Krogan bodyguard will make him easy to follow." said Thane as he pointed to the catwalks overhead.

"Where will you be?" Austin asked.

"The darkest corner with the darkest view." Thane replied.

Austin nodded and activated his cloak as he headed for the catwalks. Thane meanwhile put his hands together in prayer.

"Amonkira. Lord of hunters. Grant that my hands be steady, my aim be true, and my feet swift. And should the worst come to pass, grant me forgiveness."

* * *

Pursuing Talid was extremely easy with his cloak on. He did of course have to be careful he didn't accidently bump into a Keeper who was also up here. As he was forced to enter a warehouse however, he lost sight of Talid. At first, this didn't worry the Helldiver, but as the warehouse seemed to drag on, this changed.

* * *

Austin eventually managed to make it outside, and just in time too. A Drell had appeared just behind Talid and had drawn a gun in his direction.

"Kolyat!" he yelled.

Kolyat was momentarily distracted and looked in Austin direction before then firing at Talid. By this time however, they'd notice him and the Krogan bodyguard had drawn his own gun.

"Call C-Se—Argh!" he said as Kolyat's bullets hit him. Talid ran to his apartment with Kolyat in hot pursuit.

"Thane?" Austin called as he jumped down.

"I saw." said Thane as he came running up behind.

"He's heading to Talid's apartment!"

* * *

They managed to get into the apartment just in time. Talid was in his knees with Kolyat's gun aimed right at the back of his head.

"Kolyat." said Thane.

"This- This is a joke. Now? Now you show up?" said Kolyat, speaking in the same kind of raspy voice that Thane had.

"Help me, Drell. I'll do whatever you want." Talid begged.

At that moment, the doors opened again and Bailey entered with another C-sec officer.

"C-sec. Put the gun down, son." he said.

"Get out of my way. I'm walking out. He's coming with me." said Kolyat.

"They'll have snipers outside." Thane tried to persuade.

"I don't need your help! All of you, back off! I'll kill him!" Kolyat shouted.

"No you won't." said Austin.

To everyone's surprise, Austin fired his Revenant and shot Talid in the head.

"Oh my gods." said Kolyat as he watched the lifeless body fall to the ground.

"Hostages only work when your enemy cares if they live." said Austin.

"Interesting solution." said Thane, sounding somewhat unimpressed with Austin's decision.

"He was a racist and a criminal. Isn't that enough?" Austin replied.

"To some, I suppose." said Thane.

"I read your files. Isn't that what you do? Kill people who do bad things?" Kolyat retorted.

"Take the boy into custody." said Bailey.

"You son of a bitch!"

"Your father doesn't have much time left, Kolyat. He's trying to make up for his mistakes." said Austin.

"What, so you came to get my forgiveness? So you can die in peace or something?" said Kolyat.

"I came to grant you peace." said Thane after a brief pause. "You're angry because I wasn't there when your mother died."

"You weren't there when she was alive. Why should you be there when she died?" Kolyat retorted angrily.

There was a rather long silence before Thane finally replied.

"Your mother—They killed her to get to me. It was my fault."

"What?"

"After her body was given to the deep, I went to find them. The trigger men. The ringleaders. I hurt them. Eventually killed them. When I went back to see you, you were—older. I should have stayed with you."

"I guess it's too bad for me you waited so long, huh?"

Once again, there was another long pause.

"Kolyat, I've taken many bad things out of this world. You're the only good thing I added to it." said Thane.

At this, a tear seem to fall down Kolyat's cheek.

"This isn't a conversation you should have in front of strangers." said Bailey. He then turned back to the other officer. "Boys, take Kolyat and his father back to the precinct. Give them a room and as much time as they need."

"I'm surprised you're letting him do that." said Austin.

"You think he's the only man who ever screwed up raising a son?" said Bailey. "I have to get back to the precinct. Come on. I'll give you a lift."

* * *

It had been almost an hour now. Thane and his son where still in the room.

"They've been in there awhile." said Austin.

"Kid's been through a lot." said Bailey. "I ran some searches in the C-sec archives. About ten years back, a bunch of real bad people were killed. Like someone was cleaning house. The prime suspect was a Drell. We never caught him."

"Ten years is a long time. Whoever was responsible for that probably doesn't exist anymore." said Austin, knowing full well who the real killer was.

"Yeah. I guess you're right about that." said Bailey in agreement.

Thane then walked out. His expression was rather unreadable.

"How'd it go?" Austin asked sympathetically.

"Our problems—they aren't something I can fix a few words. We'll keep talking, see what happens." said Thane.

"Your boy shot some people. No one I feel sympathy for, but there it is." said Bailey.

"I watched those guys shaking down businesses and threatening humans." said Austin defensively.

"But he can't just get away with it." Bailey argued.

"The kid wants to make a difference. Give him community service." said Austin.

"Community service for attempted murder? What jury would agree to that?" Bailey asked. Was Austin joking?

"None that I've seen. This would need to stay out of the judiciary. Strictly within C-sec." said Austin.

"Interesting. I'll think about it." said Bailey.

"Thank you, Captain." said Thane as he and Bailey shook hands.

Seeing as they been on the Citadel for quite a while now, Austin decided that everyone had earned a bit of shore leave and so Alpha Squad where in the usual private room that they had.

Most of Alpha Squad were sat at the bar and chatting with one another. Griffin was sat apart from the other and appeared to be chatting to someone over the comlink. Austin guessed it was Ashley.

He then noticed Samara who was meditating as she looked out over the view of the Presidium. He sat down next to her as she halted maintaining the biotic field she usually did.

"Morinth haunted my dreams and waking hour's equally." said the Justicar. "For the first time in 400 years, I am free. I am a ruined vessel of sorrow and regret, but I am free. It is not a feeling I can describe."

"Was it worth it?" Austin asked.

"It was never a question of worth, but of need. I had to take the action I did. As did she. This was never a story that would have a happy outcome." said Samara.

"You did your duty. What about your feelings?" Austin asked.

"One of my daughters is dead. My hopes, my dreams were all bound up in my children. Still, my feelings have always come after my duty." said Samara.

"You said that Morinth was a monster. But she was still your daughter." said Austin.

"She was the strongest and smartest. She would not accept the injustice thrust upon her. She fought to the end. I am so proud of her, Shepard." said Samara as she briefly smiled.

"You killed her for being what she was." Austin responded.

"And I would again. But I also know what it means to leave everything behind and fight. Do you realize that she went on the run at the age of 40? I do not know human years well, but it is very young for Asari." said Samara.

Austin simply nodded as he understood.

"What will you do now that Morinth is gone?" he asked.

"Assuming I survive your mission? I am a Justicar. Injustice still exists… and perhaps even other Ardat-Yakshi." Samara responded.

"There's no way to correct the condition Morinth had?"

"We are an advanced species, but we don't have magic. When the trait manifests at maturity, it is too late for mitigation. It only occurs in purebloods like myself."

"But does that mean…"

"I am a lucky exception. Even in purebloods, it is rather rare. And before you ask, no. Liara isn't one either. If she were, you would've died during your first Union."

"Good." said Austin as he breathed a sigh of relief. "You almost had me worried there. Still, at least now I understand why her parents may have been worried, and why some don't hold purebloods in high regard."

"Perhaps that is the root of the stigma regarding Asari-exclusive pairings. I don't know." said Samara.

"So, you don't want to settle down eventually? No retirement or anything like that?" Austin asked.

"I did plan it originally. I returned to my homeworld and tried to start a family. I will fight and struggle all my life. That is my fate. When I die, it will not be in bed. I am at peace with that." said Samara.

"You still control the direction of your life." said Austin wisely.

"I have chosen this path. I truly am at peace, due in no small part to you." Samara smiled as she went back to maintaining her biotic field.

Austin then noticed that Liara was standing against one of the balcony's looking at the view.

"You sure you don't want to do something more exciting?" he asked as stood next to his girlfriend.

"I love this part of the Presidium. It reminds me of where I grew up." Liara smiled.

"Where's that?"

"Armali, back on Thessia." Liara replied. "My mother and I lived beside a Park. I spent hours there."

"Doing what?"

"Reading, exploring, getting in trouble digging for ruins in the grass." Liara laughed.

"You're kidding." Austin chuckled, imagining a young Asari covered in mud.

"I was very young." Liara smiled.

"You digging in the grass in a park as a little girl? Yeah, that's actually very cute."

"No one else thought it was funny. The lecture my mother gave me! But she did buy me my first history book the next day. I miss her, Austin."

"What was she like?"

"She was confident and kind. She loved to wear yellow, your favourite colour. I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world." Said Liara.

"I only wish I'd known her better. I would've been proud to have called her mother in law." Said Austin.

"For a Helldiver war veteran, you can be surprisingly romantic. I didn't know you had this many soft spots." Liara smiled. "Am I one of them?"

"Well, I wouldn't say that a soft spot is the same as true love. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Definitely." Said Liara happily as she gave Austin a peck on the cheek. "I wish we could spend more time like this, no Reapers, no Collectors, no war."

"I'd like that too." said Austin as he put his arm around her and she rested her head against his shoulders.

"That's what friends are for after all." the Asari smiled.

"Liara, I'd definitely say that you and I are more than just good friends." said Austin.

"I know, I didn't mean..."

"It's okay. But still, I'd say doesn't really cut it for us."

"Hmm, that sounds serious." said Liara suggestively.

"I am. No matter what happens, I want to spend the rest of my life with you." said Austin as he took both Liara's hands into his.

"Is that a proposal I hear?" Liara asked keenly.

"No quite. I'd prefer to wait until we defeat the Collectors. If it makes you feel any better though, I can make a promise." said Austin.

"Don't make a girl a promise... if you know you can't keep it." said Liara.

"I know I can keep this one, love. I didn't come back from the dead just to die again. We're going to live through this." said Austin confidently.

"I only wish I could be as positive as you." Liara said, her mood brightened slightly.

"You can be. Look into my mind, what do you see?" said Austin.

Liara did so and initiated a mind link.

"I see... your love for, love for your friends, hope, courage, and..." she said.

"And?" Austin asked.

Liara opened her eyes again, a slight look of surprise and happiness on her face.

"...and a lot of little blue children." she finished.

"I love you, Liara. Whatever happens, I'll stay at your side until the end." said Austin as he stroked Liara's face.

"Then you're extremely lucky I feel that way too." Liara smiled

"I know." Austin smiled back as he and Liara kissed.

* * *

**Pretty sure I don't need to say which scene was taken from ME3. I'm pretty sure you can guess why it's been moved to ME2. In fact, the same is happening with Aethyta revealing she's Liara's father, it's happening for a very good reason. One which I think you will all definitely approve of. Shepard's bought a ring after all.**

**Hope you also like the inclusion of Urz by the way. The interrogation was actually very go do fun to write due to the various different ways it can be done.**

**Anyway, next chapter will probably take a bit longer as I'm planning that one to be an action chapter. It's not a loyalty mission I'm afraid, it's more intended to be a chapter where Alpha Squad spend some time practising with one another using their simulator. It's not as dull as it sounds, it gives me many opportunities to add in a bit more character development for the originals (if you know what I mean by that)**

**Red Vs Blue and also scenes from the Avengers will serve as choreography for some of the fights. Some of the characters will even get to kick even more ass than usual.**

**Let me know what you think. I would really appreciate a lot more comments, or at least lengthy ones, if you can. And as I keep saying, I welcome feedback, even if some of it may not be what I'm hoping for. It helps to make sure I don't make the same mistakes twice.**

**See you soon!**


	30. Chapter 30, Alpha Fights Back

**Also like to quickly reply to two guest reviews I recently got (This is the only way I can reply to them)**

**The first one suggested that I do a separate story that's all codex entries.**

**While I would like to say I'd be interested in doing that, I will quickly ask if you read the first Helldvier story, because that one has a chapter which does actually elaborate on some of the things you mentioned. Nevertheless, I will keep that in mind. Perhaps maybe when I've finished ME2, I will look into doing the codex as a separate fic.**

**I do appreciate that you are trying to help. Even I do sometimes forget a few things which can eventually lead to accidental plot holes or annoying changes. So thank you for that, and I am glad at least that you are enjoying the fic.**

**Thanks for also saying I rock.**

* * *

**Second** **guest review asked if I'd ever use Shepard and Liara's telepathic link (which was mentioned in ME1)**

**I can tell you now that you're prayers have been answered in this chapter. This is where they finally discover how to use it.**

**Also, if you do have any suggestions on how I could develop Shepard and Liara's relationship further, please don't hesitate to show me them. I listen to all kinds of feedback and ideas. I seek to make a brilliant story after all.**

**Thanks** **for review. I'm also looking forward to doing ME3 as well. Because I have so many story changes planned for it, I'm actually pretty eager to do it. It was originally planned to be mostly the same as ME2, but with a happier ending, but my ideas have now evolved to the point where I'm working on doing full rewrites of the main plot (not all of it, but most)**

* * *

**Anyway, I've talked long enough now. I'll let you read.**

**Hope** **you enjoy this chapter. Not only did I put a lot of effort into it, but it was good fun to do.**

* * *

**Chapter 30**

**Alpha Fights Back**

Steam filled the room as Austin relaxed. The Helldiver had recently discovered that apparently his cabin seemed to have a bath tub as well as a shower. Unable to resist the thought of a steaming hot bath, he'd instantly run it and was now relaxing peacefully. All around him in the separate room was several scented candles which added to the atmosphere. Austin had also dimmed the lights so that only the candles provided any illumination.

The Helldiver was so relaxed, that he didn't even notice the door open and a figure stepped in. Despite this though, Austin was able to hear the figure. He didn't worry at all. After all, he knew who it was. The Helldiver smiled even more as he heard the sound of clothing being removed.

Within a few seconds, he felt two soft hands start to massage his shoulders. He opened his eyes and looked up, straight into the eyes of a naked Liara.

"Enjoying yourself?" she smiled.

"Now that you're here, I am." Austin smiled back as he and Liara kissed.

The Asari surprisingly seemed to pull back a bit, rubbing her lips a bit.

"Your neck... needs a shave, my love." she said, almost order like.

"Does it?" Austin asked teasingly as he moved one of his hands up to his neck and felt it.

She was right, his neck was starting to feel a bit bristly. Liara didn't mind the trimmed beard on his actual face and jawline at all. If anything, she felt it made him look more handsome, especially with his long hair. He always kept the neck part shaven though. In some ways, it made the face part of the beard look a bit neater.

"Oh, you're right. It does." he said.

Austin reached for some shaving foam and his razor, as he went to apply the foam however, Liara grabbed both his wrists.

"May I?" she asked naughtily.

Austin simply nodded and put the foam in her hands. The Asari then started rubbing it all over his neck. It was actually quite relaxing to have someone else do it for him. Having Liara do it, was even better. Her smooth and delicate touch made him sigh in bliss. After a few seconds, she stopped.

Austin then heard the sound of water rippling. He opened his eyes to see Liara climbing into the bath. As she sat down, her tits seemed to float slightly. It was a very exotic sight. Austin couldn't help but chuckle slightly at this, and even Liara found it a bit funny.

"So, shall I?" Liara asked as she took the razor in her hand and moved in front of her bond mate, her large breasts jiggled slightly as the water rippled around them. Austin did his best to stay focused and not get aroused by her wet skin.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked hesitantly.

"Aw, don't you trust me?" Liara asked innocently.

"I do. It's just that you've never done this before." Austin replied.

"I've seen enough of your memories to know how to do this right. I promise you, I'm not gonna give you another scar. If I do, well you can punish me... any way you like." said Liara. As she said the last bit, her free hand reached into the water and gave Austin's currently flaccid, but very warm and relaxed member a stroke, causing him to jump slightly at the sudden touch.

"Fair enough, alright." he smiled as he hugged Liara closer to him, squashing her breasts against his chest.

"Hold still then." Liara smiled, and she slowly moved the razor across his neck.

Austin laid back and relaxed as Liara made several strokes. She took it slowly and gently so as to not cause any cuts by accident. After a few minutes, she finally finished and moved back slightly to inspect her work.

"Well, how did I do?" she asked as she took a small mirror from the side of the bath and held it up in front of Austin's face.

The Helldiver moved his face from side to side as he inspected it in the mirror. There were no mark, missed bits of hair or anything, and it was super smooth. Liara had done an absolutely flawless job. Not even he himself had done this well.

'Perfect. Simply perfect. I dare say I've never seen better." he said.

Liara smiled and moved up close to her boyfriend again and kissed him deeply. As the two hugged each other close, Austin rather sneakily slid both his hands down her body all the way to her ass. The Asari jumped slightly in surprise when Austin grabbed both her cheeks rather tightly.

"Hmm, still smoother." he said slyly.

"I thought the term was used for babies." Liara smiled, obviously getting what he meant by that.

"Yeah, but I don't think yours has lost any smoothness at all." Austin smiled.

"You do know how to flatter me, don't you." said Liara

"Of course I do. I love you." said Austin as he kissed the Asari on the cheek.

"I love you too."

Liara then pushed Austin right up against the edge.

"This actually feels very familiar. You remember how we first made love?" Liara asked, remembering when they had swam together on the Citadel over three years ago. That had indeed been when they first had sex.

"How could I forget?" Austin smiled.

"This feels a lot like we're doing it again, only more romantic." said Liara as she planted a few kisses on her bond mate's neck.

"Oh, but it gets better." Austin smiled slyly as he pressed a button on the edge of the bath.

There was a low hum and then suddenly the whole surface of the water became distorted by bubbles. It was a Jacuzzi, as well as a bath.

"Ooooh! That feels so good!" Liara sighed.

"I knew you'd like that." said Austin.

"Make love to me, Austin. Please..." Liara nearly begged as she reached down and grabbed his penis very tightly, causing him to start getting hard.

"Alright then, my blue goddess." said Austin, slightly surprised by Liara's forwardness, but pleasantly so.

As the two once again started kissing, this time way more passionately, Austin reached for a small remote near the bath, pointed it at the door and pressed the a button. The door closed itself, leaving just him, Liara, and a warm Jacuzzi that would very soon be full of love making.

* * *

"Major, this is urgent."

The Arkane council stood before Austin, who was already decked out in his armour since he and Alpha Squad had been just about to do a training exercise in the simulator.

"I'm all ears, councillors." he said.

"Another colony has been attacked. This time however, it's not the Collectors." said Tarnack.

"What do you mean?"

"It seems the Batarians have suddenly decided to try and take advantage. A small band of slavers have invaded the colony of Terra Nova." Spartan explained.

"Normally, we would send a different squad in your place, but this time we feel it best we send you. After all, you have a lot of experience, and you personally know one of them from Elysium." said Tarnack.

"Balak?!" said Austin in surprise.

He knew obviously that the Batarian terrorist had escaped from Helldiver custody about a year or so ago after he'd been captured on the asteroid over Terra Nova, but he hadn't expected that Balak would show this face again this soon, let alone in an attack like this.

Spartan nodded.

"If at all possible, we'd very much like to see him back behind bars." he said.

"We'll head straight there." said Austin.

"Rescuing the colonists is your top priority, Shepard. If however there's a chance you can recapture Balak..." said Tarnack.

"We'll all bear that in mind, Councillors. Shepard out."

* * *

It was no coincidence that Balak had attacked Terra Nova. He had tried to destroy the exact same colony over three years ago. Naturally of course, that attack had been foiled by Austin. Austin did have to admit though that he was interested in seeing the look on Balak's face when he saw the Helldiver alive and well again. News of his return still wasn't public knowledge, even if some people had seen him in person.

All of Alpha where packed into the Hellhound dropship. Although they had to cancel their training exercise, they were still in high spirits. They encountered the Collectors so many times that they were almost happy to be returning to fighting a more familiar enemy. An enemy that their exosuits had first been created for and they'd been trained to fight in the first place.

"Are we parking?" Griffin asked as he felt the Hellhound shudder.

"Indeed we are. They're right below us." Said Austin as he stood up, keeping one his hands on the ceiling railings for support.

"How far below?"

"Do you really wanna know?"

"Probably not. Do I wanna know?"

"70,000 feet." Austin replied.

"That's high." Said Griffin.

He then noticed that Sandra, who was sat next to him, looked a bit pale. She looked as though she was going to be sick.

"You alright?" he asked concernedly.

"She gets a bit air sick from time to time. Not very often, but it does happen." Alaara replied as she patted her wife reassuringly on the back.

"Yeah. So fair warning, I might throw up on you." Sandra groaned.

Although Griffin knew he shouldn't he did nudge himself away from Sandra ever so slightly.

"What's the plan than, Shepard?" Ventra asked as he checked that all the new gadgets on his bow worked correctly.

"Well, we know they're ready for us. I figure they have defences pointed in every direction, except…" said Austin.

"Except they're not looking straight up." Said Kraan.

"Dive bomb and jump?" Dash asked, excitedly.

"Oh no. No, my stomach can't take that." Said Sandra groggily.

"You'll be fine, darling. Just keep picturing me naked. That should help." Said Alaara.

"Yeah, I don't really know how to do that under stress." Said Sandra as she took several deep breaths. She always removed her helmet when she was like this, it did help a very small bit since she no longer felt concealed.

"I do." Said Alaara as she touched Sandra's head and her eyes went black.

"Ah, much better." Sandra sighed dreamily as an image of a fully nude Alaara came into her mind.

"Anyway, if we did a dive bomb, our engines would register on their thermals." Said Austin.

"Hmm, what if we tried something else?" said Leena.

Everyone, except for Griffin, Liara, and Garrus knew what she meant.

"How did I know you were gonna say that?" Austin sighed. He then turned to the others. "Everyone, you might wanna tighten your harnesses up."

"Oh no!" said Sandra as Alaara lowered her harness over her. Everyone else did the same for themselves.

"Breath slowly, love." Said the Asari calmly as the drop ship started to shudder even more as its engines cut out and it began its decent

"Then stop projecting an image of us having sex into my mind!" Sandra yelled.

"Sorry. Got a bit carried away." Said Alaara.

The drop continued for several long seconds with Austin monitoring the altitude.

"Prepare to fire engines on my mark." He said. "5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"

The Hellhound gave a massive lurch as the thrusters fired and their decent stopped.

"Alright, everyone out! Go! Go! Go!" Austin yelled as the doors opened and everyone jumped.

"Let's move it people!" Alaara yelled as she and Sandra jumped.

"Yeah, let's move." Said Dash as pushed himself off the wall to give himself more running speed.

The sheer force of all the Helldivers landing at once shook at least 5 of the Batarians in their area.

Guns blazed as each Helldiver ran to suitable cover in order to better survey their environments.

They quickly saw that the Batarians where slightly better equipped than Alpha Squad had originally thought. They had surprisingly good weapons, better armour and even a few small rovers with mounted guns, one of which fired at them, causing the squad to split up.

Dash was quick to dodge the shot and he ran at the rover. It fired several more rounds at him, but his enhanced speed made him too fast. The Helldiver scout jumped up onto the bonnet and continued running. He then jumped again, and soon he was up on a balcony of the main building the Batarians where guarding.

"Kraan, stay behind me!" Alaara yelled as she and the Krogan took cover behind one of the many cargo crates around the colony in order to avoid fire from the other rover.

"Go! Go!" she yelled.

"Griffin, move up!" Leena yelled as she and the demolition expert bolted out from behind another crate.

"On it!"

The second they came out however, the rover that had previously been firing on Dash shifted its attention to them. It fired a shot which impacted very close to the both of them. Leena was unaffected by it, but Griffin was smashed against the crate by the force of the blast.

"Fuck grenades." Leena swore as she continued running. The rover fired another shot, but she managed to roll away from it.

The two rovers then accelerated and attempted to surround Leena, but the Quarian had anticipated this. She quickly activated her omni tool and brought her hand against the ground very hard as she remained crouched from her roll.

The EMP burst from her hand immediately brought both rovers to a halt and the drivers were forced to abandon them. Right as they did however, Austin was quick to gun them both down with his Revenant.

"Clear! Move up!" he yelled.

The rest of Alpha Squad followed and they began advancing on the main building.

Dash had taken the high ground so that he had the squad covered. There were more Batarian on the roof which he was quick to fire on. However, his dual pistols weren't really much good and their suppressing fire soon had him pinned behind cover.

"We've gotta time this just right! Wait for my mark!" said Alaara.

She and Kraan, along with the others, had caught up and had the Batarians in their sights.

"Call it, T'onrak." said the Krogan.

From on the roof, another Batarian joined the other snipers. This one however was different. He had a very dark red set of armour on that was fitted with spikes in certain places. Austin knew this wasn't Balak, but that sort of armour looked familiar.

"Okay, what have you got for me?" said the Batarian he drew a sniper from his back and started scanning for a target.

"Alright, boys. Me first." said Liara as she took a grenade from her belt and threw it.

Only a few seconds after it left the Asari's hand however, it exploded as the Batarian sniper shot it in mid-air. Alaara and Kraan however, took this is the signal and came out of cover to attack.

"NOW! No wait, not now, not now!" said Alaara quickly as she pulled Kraan back into cover to avoid the incoming fire from another rover.

"Come on." Kraan groaned.

"Dammit!" Liara swore as she retreated back into cover next to Austin.

"Ventra, we're pinned down. I need you to take them out!" said Dash into his comm.

Said Turian was also pinned behind a much smaller cargo crate next to Leena was blind firing a few shots from her shotgun.

"I'm on it." he replied.

Ventra reached behind his back and unclipped his newly upgraded bow. It was very different now from the last time he had used it. Recently, the Turian had spent a few late nights tinkering around with his weapon of choice. He'd also been spending a bit of time with Dell who had helped him with some of the many new upgrades he'd made. Now instead of it being a traditional bow that had been used for hundreds of years, it was a highly advanced bow outfitted with some of the latest technology best suited for hunting and combat.

Ventra had managed to eliminate the need for the quiver of arrows on his back by outfitting an automatic reload system into the bow in the form of a small box attachment which now carried some brand new telescopic arrows that Dell had designed. The tips could easily be changed inside and outside the box and could also still be detached if Ventra needed to use one of the arrows as a melee weapon, as he did tend to do in close up combat.

The two ends of the bow now had a small wheel on each end which allowed better pull backs of the string and the bow to have even more force when firing an arrow. Dell had also fitted a PS energy support hydraulic system to allow the two light ends of the bow, which needed to bend in order for the bow to be pulled back, so that they would move in accordance with the string.

Ventra himself had also fitted a long range laser do for better targeting and he had also redesigned the bows body from scratch, not just to improve lightness and looks, but also so that it could now collapse and fold up for easy carrying and so that he could now carry it even more easily on his back. Overall, it now looked like a bow out of this century, rather than a traditional old fashioned one.

"Don't let me down now, baby." he said as his thumb pressed the small button which opened up the reload system and an arrow flipped out. It instantly settled itself onto the slot where the arrows where fired from, and the end of it extend until it had attached itself onto the main string.

Ventra took a deep breath as he wrapped both his two fingers around the string with the arrow in-between and he drew it back. He then very slowly and calm pointed it upwards.

"They say the best offense, is a good DEFENCE!"

He let the string fly and the arrow shot up into the air and very high speed. It gradually slowed and then started plummeting down. The tip went bang on target into the ground next to the feet of the Batarians. Instantly, a large shield formed itself around them.

"What the... hold your fire! Stand down." the sniper ordered.

"Heh. I got this." said one of the Batarians as he pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the shield.

"No, wait!"

The Batarian fired and the shot simply bounced right back, going straight through his helmet and killing him instantly. The shot continued bouncing and did the same to all the others. The whole of the inside of the shield became covered in Batarian blood as the shot went through each one several times before they all feel and the it finally disappeared, leaving several torn apart bodies.

"Did I get 'em?" Ventra asked.

"You got 'em alright." Dash said, rather impressed by what he'd seen.

"Nice shot, Robin Hood." Said Sandra.

"I'll never hear the end of that, will I?" Ventra sighed, but he said it in a happy way. He knew his team mates meant that is a compliment. "High ground's clear. Griffin, you guys can handle this from here right?"

"Think so." Griffin replied.

Right as the demolition expert finished speaking however, several shots hit the wall next to him. More and more Batarians had come out of the man building, all of them concentrating on Alpha Squad.

On the plus side however, they could at least now get all the colonists out and away from the settlement.

All of the squad except for Austin, Leena and Ventra had headed to where the Batarians had been keeping the colonists. Though it was clear now, the colonists would still be in danger from incoming fire and the slavers where making a push.

"We need time to evacuate the colonists. They're fish in a barrel without us." Said Austin.

"We got this. It's good. Go." Said Leena.

"Do you think you two can hold them off?" Austin asked.

Ventra turned to the Major, grinning under his helmet.

"Major…" he pressed one of the buttons on the handle of his bow and another arrow automatically flipped out of the box, this time with a different tip. "It would be my genuine pleasure."

The Turian then popped out of cover, drew the string back and fired an arrow which impacted right into the head of one of the Batarians. The arrows tip even shot a small circle of bullets which killed a few more others which had been standing near.

Leena also stood up and started firing with her shotgun while her plasma cannon was set on automatic and was targeting and firing for her.

Austin meanwhile ran to join the others as they worked on getting the colonists out.

"Everyone keep moving! Don't stop." He said as he and the others laid down suppressing fire.

"Just like Palaven all over again." said Leena as she fired several more rounds, Ventra made sure to cover his girlfriend with arrow fire when she needed to reload her shotgun.

"You and I remember Palaven very differently, Leena." said Ventra as he fired two more arrows.

The Turian was quick to react though. He swung his bow at the Batarian's legs causing him to trip up. At the same time, he took the already set arrow from the bow in his free hand. As the Batarian fell on his back, Ventra twirled it a few times before he then plunged the tip right into his enemy's heart.

Though the arrows where primarily meant for shooting, they could still function as melee weapons when it came to close combat, as did the two blades that Ventra had fitted to his bow.

Leena meanwhile was on another Batarian's back and was wrestling with him. She both her omni tools set to electrify anyone that she touched. Like her boyfriend's arrows, these where handy weapons in close combat. Of course Leena's favourite melee weapon of choice was her Tomahawk and combat knife which she used at the same time. When the Quarian had first joined Alpha squad she'd only used the Tomahawk, but Ventra had slowly taught her how to use a knife as well which she was eventually able to at the same time.

Despite Leena's best efforts though; the Batarian she was attempting to stun wasn't going down. He was just too endurable.

"Shoot him… please!" she called as her attacker tried to throw her off.

Ventra quickly reacted and fired an arrow straight into the Batarian's forehead. The alien's visor smashed as it went straight through.

Another Batarian suddenly charged Ventra and tackled him to the floor. Ventra was quick to return attack though as he used another arrow as a melee weapon and stabbed it into the Batarian.

Leena meanwhile hopped off of the now limp Batarian. Two more ran at her from either side, but she was ready for them. As the one on the left attempted to melee her with the butt of his rifle, the Quarian unsheathed her combat knife in her left hand and blocked the attack as she held it backhand. Her right hand then unsheathed her tomahawk which she used to trip her attacker. As the Batarian hit the floor, she brought the Tomahawk right down on his head, smashing right through his helmet and into his brain.

Leena then turned back to other one that had been running at her to see that another had joined him. No matter though, she could still take them.

As the first Batarian lunged at her, she parried his gun with her tomahawk and pushed him away, causing him to lose his balance and topple onto his back. The other Batarian then came close, but Leena simply embedded her tomahawk in his left shoulder, stunning him from the pain.

The other Batarian meanwhile that Leena had just thrown to the floor had managed to roll onto his back and had pointed his gun right at her. The Quarian quickly brought her still stunned opponent right on front of her and used him as a shield as the downed Batarian fired. The shot hit the other Batarian square in the chest and he dies instantly. Leena then seized her chance. She threw the now dead Batarian shield out of the way and jumped onto the downed one. Right as she landed on top of him, she sank her tomahawk into him.

All the while, Ventra shot two more Batarians as they kept coming. Leena resorted to laying down cover fire with her plasma cannon. Another Batarian swung at Ventra, but he was too slow. The Turian skidded under the Batarian. As he slowed down, he got back up, whirled around and shot the Batarian clean in the back.

More Batarians came, but then several rounds tore one apart. Both Helldivers looked to see that Griffin had joined the fray.

"Nice of you to join us, Griff." Said Leena as she pinned another Batarian's gun down with her tomahawk and slashed his neck.

"Not about to let you have all the fun." Said Griffin as he punched and knocked several other Batarians down with his gauntlet and minigun.

They finally finished the last, and the area seemed clear.

" _All civilians evacuated."_ came Austin's voice.

"We done here then?" Ventra asked as he set about gathering back what arrows he could. He only had so many he could use, it was use to reuse them as much as possible.

"Not quite. Our secondary objective is to capture Balak if we can." Austin replied.

"How did I know he was going to say that?" said Leena.

A sudden punch from behind sent Leena flying. Griffin looked to see a heavy Batarian standing right behind him, dressed in the same red armour that the sniper had been in. Were these guys like an elite squad or something?

The red Batarian punched Griffin as well before he could react in time and he landed next to Leena.

"You alright?" he groaned as he got back up.

"Bought the same as you." Leena replied as she too jumped back onto her feet.

"That bad, huh?"

The red heavy Batarian had now whipped out a rocket launcher which he instantly fired. The explosion caused both of them to fall again, but this time Leena fired an EMP blast from her shoulder cannon which disabled the launcher.

As Griffin got up again however, he failed to notice another rover which was now heading in his direction.

"Uh-oh! Car!" he yelled as he ran to avoid getting run over.

"Bosh'tet!" Leena swore.

Right as she turned back to the Batarian heavy, he swiped her shotgun out of her hand. The Batarian then charged straight into her, knocking the Quarian to the floor.

Before he could deliver another blow however, Dash, who was still up on the high ground, fired at him forcing him into cover. The Helldiver scout then noticed the rover chasing Griffin.

"Oh fuck, no you don't!" said Dash as he jumped and kicked the rover's gunner as he landed.

Right as Dash went to deliver another blow however, the Batarian kicked him off. The two started to fight one another as Dash was forced to holster his pistols.

All the while, Leena had managed to get back on her feet and ran to pick her shotgun back up. The heavy Batarian however got in her way and she resorted to hand to hand combat with him. Despite that she managed to retrieve her shotgun during the fight however, the rover, which still had a driver, suddenly did a power slide and knocked her right into a nearby crate.

"Ow! My helmet!"

At the same time, Austin had been behind cover observing the battle. He could already tell that things were starting to get out of hand.

"Okay, time to fight fire… with fire!" he said as he took a homing beacon from his belt and threw it.

There were a few quick beeps, and then a large container of some sort landed on the ground. Some of the Batarian's backed away cautiously. The front of the container flew off and a large robot stepped out.

"X-5 online!" said X-5 as he smashed both his fists together.

The Batarians raised their guns at him. Another rover then appeared and made straight for X-5 as it attempted to run the robot over. X-5 quickly grabbed the bumper and pushed. The rover's tires skidded as it tried to push against the strong robot. At first, he did appear to be only just holding the rover back, but then the blue hologram which served as X-5's eye changed to a bright red.

"Combat protocols online. X-5, smash!" he said in a now extremely deep voice which sounded completely different to his own.

Sure enough, X-5 gave the rover a violent push, ripping the bumper off the front in his hands as the vehicle was on only its back wheels for a moment. As it came down, the robot then kicked the rover and it was sent flying, forcing several of the Batarians to jump out of the way.

"Well, well. The Red Skulls. What a pleasure to see you again." said Alaara as she stood over another one of the red Batarians, recognising the symbol on the armour.

* * *

The Red Skulls where a special group of Batarians. Each one of them wore a suit of red armour that had been extensively modified. A few years or so ago, the Batarians had attempted to copy Helldiver technology so that they perhaps stood a better chance against their enemy.

Resources for the Batarians however where scarce, not to mention that it was impossible for them to get any Helldiver tech to reverse engineer since Helldiver armour always vaporized itself when it's user died.

Capturing Helldivers as prisoners never worked either as the armour could never be removed by hand and they had all sorts of defence mechanisms, the lockdown being the most hated.

Despite this though, the Batarian had eventually managed to make some armour that could in some way compete with a Helldiver. Although this had worried many Helldivers at first, those who had encountered them simply said that compared to their technology, the Batarian versions where nothing but cheap knock offs. In some ways, they were right. The Red Skulls, named mostly due to the colour of their armour, in truth only had enhanced strength and not many of the other features that Helldivers had. The suits where indeed cheap knock offs.

However, what the Red Skulls lacked in technology, they gained in their advanced training. Unlike the suits, their training did actually help them. It very easily rivalled that of a Helldiver's and enabled the Red Skulls to compete with the Helldivers not just on a physical level, but also a mental level as well.

Even Alpha Squad often broke out a sweat against them since they fought so well. Last time they had met however, Austin had managed to kill their leader which had forced them to retreat; hence they hadn't been seen in a long time.

* * *

Alaara was suddenly interrupted however when another Batarian threw a biotic push at her and she was sent flying. Right as she aimed to fire however, a knife suddenly embedded itself in her rifle causing it to short circuit.

"Pleasure's all mine, bitch!" said the Batarian whom she'd just had her rifle trained on, who surprisingly seemed to be female.

She brandished two more knives in her hands and spun as she lunged at Alaara. The Asari narrowly dodged the attack as she used her biotics to push herself away. She then threw the now useless assault rifle at her attacker, which was instantly slashed apart by the knives as it hit the female Batarian. The female lunged again, but Alaara delivered several hard and fast strikes that knocked her away. The other one that had attacked her earlier attempted a punch at her, but the Asari parried the punches and back flipped. The two Batarians ran after her.

The Heavy Batarian meanwhile had just got up after the rover had knocked him down. As his vision cleared however, he found a big shadow standing over him.

"God's certainly not smiling on you today, pal. Seems your judgement day's come early." Said Griffin as he cracked his knuckles.

The Heavy swung a punch at him, but the Helldiver easily caught it in his right hand and slowly twisted it to the side, forcing the Batarian onto his knees. Griffin had done a lot of working out since his last fight with Batarian slavers and as a result he'd been able to increase his strength and muscles just a bit more.

Griffin then brought his massive left gauntlet back, clenched it into a fist and swung. The force of the punch was so hard that it hit like a ton of bricks and the Batarian's helmet, which still had a head inside it, was smashed clean off. The decapitated body fell to the ground, leaking blood.

"You're dead, that's good, Amen." Said Griffin very quickly as he made a cross with his hands.

The demolition expert then looked up to see Alaara still fighting the two Batarians, this time up on the roofs.

The female Batarian once again swung at her, but the Asari used her biotics to propel herself up into the air and back flipped over her two attackers. The female attacked again, but this time Alaara managed to block the attacks and struck back with a few of her own. Alaara then gave a very sharp punch which sent the female Batarian back again.

The other one however quickly took her place and now Alaara was in a fist fight with him too. The Asari dodged his strikes before she managed to jump, and midway through delivered a sharp kick to his chest.

Alaara back flipped from her kick and landed back on her feet. Seeing that both her opponents where still standing, she reached behind her back and took out her own melee weapon, a telescopic electrified stun stick. With this, the Captain was now able to deliver better strikes and she could now block even better than using her fists.

Using the stun stick was pretty much the same basic principle as using a sword. Austin had even taught Alaara a few good tricks to use with her weapon.

As Alaara clashed with the female Batarian, she kicked the other one in the head so that he was knocked away from the main fight. At the same time, X-5 had now joined the fight. The robot caught the male Batarian as he staggered away from Alaara.

X-5 picked up the Batarian and flung him over his head. He then slammed his enemy down hard, causing even more disorientation.

"The hell with you!" the Batarian growled as he slowly got back up.

X-5 charged. But this time, the Batarian was ready for him. He swung his arm downwards and also moved to the side quickly to avoid the robot's running swing. The strike tripped X-5 up and sent him flying.

At the same time, the female Batarian that was duelling Alaara had noticed this and used it to her advantage. She forced Alaara back with a push, getting the Asari Helldiver in just the right place.

Alaara noticed only too late that X-5 was flying right at her. The robot crashed into her and she was knocked back. Right as the two hit the floor however, they almost instantly got back up. Alaara was back on her feet right away and she ran at the female Batarian.

X-5 meanwhile skidded as he slowed himself down. He then did a combat roll forward and fired a projectile from his shoulder mounted rail gun. The large round zoomed towards the Batarian at high speed. Rather surprisingly though, he threw up a biotic shield and the round bounced off. It zoomed back towards X-5 and impacted at his feet.

For a moment, a large amount of smoke engulfed the robot and he was hidden from view. It seemed as though the Batarian had prevailed, but his joy was short lived as X-5 fired another round which hit the Batarian square in the chest and he was sent flying all the way into the water overhead. Even a Batarian wouldn't survive that.

Alaara and the female Batarian meanwhile where clashing back and forth, knife on stun stick. While Austin's sword skills used more of his fencing training, Alaara's was more martial arts based.

They swung; they kicked, and parried each other's attacks. A sudden accidental miss allowed the Batarian an opening and she kicked Alaara hard in the face forcing her back.

That however only made the Asari angry. As the female Batarian once again attacked, this time Alaara allowed her rage to fuel her attacks and strikes. She then attacked so fast that she then kicked the Batarian so hard that her helmet was smashed off. She slid along the floor and narrowly managed to grab the edge before she fell.

The female Batarian groaned as she slowly tried to pull herself up. Before she could however, a large metal hand suddenly grabbed her and hoisted her up.

"Fuck." She swore as she found herself staring into the skull painted mask of Griffin, his massive left gauntlet holding her tightly.

"May God have mercy on your soul, slaver." He said coldly. He then let go.

The female Batarian screamed as she felt the metal grip loosen and she fell. Her vision went dark as she felt her neck hit something hard, and then nothing.

* * *

Things weren't going well. So far, Balak had lost almost all his men and these attackers, whoever they were, we're closing in. Walking alongside him was another Batarian soldier. Not long after Balak had just managed to escape from Arkadia, he had assumed control of the Red Skulls. They had long been disorganised and leaderless ever since Alpha Squad had killed their last one a few years ago.

Behind the two were also two more Red Skull heavies, both carrying large miniguns. They were inside the large loading bay of the colony's main building. Overhead was a massive crane constantly moving different cargo crates from one place to another. Balak suddenly stopped and held his hand up for the others to stop. The soldier instantly pulled his assault rifle from his back and held it up in case they were suddenly attacked.

"We've got company. Cut 'em down!" Balak ordered.

The two heavies obeyed and both fired their miniguns in synch in an attempt to try and force any hidden enemies out of cover and into the open. After a few seconds, they ceased fire.

"Hold this position." said Balak.

A Turian Helldiver then suddenly appeared from out of cover wielding a bow and arrow. He fired two arrows, both of which hit the heavies but did hardly any damage. The two brutes where quick to return fire with their miniguns.

Ventra quickly rolled to the over pillar and retreated into cover from the incoming fire. Leena and Griffin, who had been accompanying him, did the same.

"Helldivers! Pull 'em down!" Balak ordered as he and the soldier left. The heavies remained where they were, still firing without pause.

"Well, we'll see about that." said Leena as she held her tomahawk up in a throw stance "Catch!"

The Quarian threw the weapon and it flew towards the Batarians, spinning like a boomerang. Unfortunately however, that proved to be a disadvantage since it missed the Batarian's head, did a slingshot around them, missed again and it flew right back at its master... embedding itself straight in her chest plate.

"LEENA!"

"Crap! That didn't go so well." Said Griffin as he crouched down to check on the Quarian. He could still sense a heartbeat.

"She's alright. Her suit took the blow, no breaches. She's down, but not out." he said.

Ventra relaxed a bit at this. At least he knew his girlfriend was still alive.

The constant barrage of minigun fire continued. After a few painfully long seconds though, the rest of Alpha Squad eventually showed up. Ventra was the first to notice them.

"About time you guys got here. We're pinned." He said.

"We miss all the fun?" Dash asked as he and the others took cover.

"Hardly." Ventra replied.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do…" said Austin.

Right before he speak his plan however, Liara ran straight past him, jumped over the two guards and made into the main part of the complex unscathed.

"Hmm, didn't think of that one." said Austin "Cover me!"

The Major then ran out of cover straight into the line of fire.

"Cover me? That's the plan?!" said Kraan.

"Huh, when are those two gonna get married?" Alaara couldn't help but chuckle as she watched Austin perform the exact same move as Liara and he managed to get past the guards.

"My money's on them getting married during a fight. That'd be pretty cool." said Dash.

"I'd rather not make any bets on something like that." said Griffin. "Love makes its own path."

"Oh come on! A hundred credits! Put it towards a lap dance with Miss Lawson, how about that?" said Dash.

* * *

Austin quickly caught up with Liara. She was crouched on one side of a locked door.

"That was a bit of a reckless move for you, Liara." said Austin in a somewhat surprised tone as he took up defensive position on the other side.

"Always the element of surprise." said Liara.

"You don't say."

"Careful. That room's guarded by turrets." the Asari advised.

"Think we can get past them?" Austin asked.

"Not by ourselves, and I think the others are… occupied." said Liara.

"Hmm. Anyone? We need you to get the power." said Austin into his comlink.

 _"We're a little busy here."_ Alaara replied.

For a moment, it seemed as though they had little options. But then, an unexpected voice suddenly replied through the radio.

_"This is Leena. I copy."_

"I'll be dammed, she came round." said Austin in surprise. Leena had always been tough, but still... for her to get up so quickly from something like that was very impressive.

* * *

"Good show, girl. That's the spirit. Still have a bit of fight in you." Said Ventra.

Leena slowly got back on her feet. She then reached for her Tomahawk and yanked it out of her chest hard. There was no sign of blood or any suit breach, the Quarian's armour was too tough for that. It was fair to say that while Tali had the brains, Leena was the better fighter. She'd had over ten years of working with Alpha Squad to learn much and her own personal reasons for becoming a Helldiver had made her battle hardened.

Leena twirled her Tomahawk between her fingers for a few seconds before she then brought her hand back sand once again threw her Tomahawk. This time however, it didn't miss. The small axe flew directly at its target and embedded itself in the shoulder of one of the heavies. Despite this however, it didn't seem to injure him and he just kept firing.

"So much for that plan." said Kraan.

"Didn't realise they were that tough." said Leena. There was a hint of anger in the Quarian's voice. Most likely, this whole thing was starting to piss her off.

"What now?" Dash asked.

Leena simply remained calm and silent as she pumped another round into her shotgun. She then slowly walked towards cover to properly observe the two heavies.

She waited a few brief seconds before she then jumped out of cover and flipped over the incoming minigun fire, firing a grenade from her shotgun's grenade launcher attachment. The shot hit the ground near the heavy's feet which disoriented them. This briefly caused them both to stop firing and Leena seized her chance.

The Quarian ran, firing more shots as she did. Despite this however, the two heavies where quick to recover from the first grenade and they resumed their minigun fire, which shot all the grenades that the Quarian had just fired causing them all to explode before they hit their targets.

Leena quickly retreated back into cover. The Quarian looked out slightly to try and see if there was anything she could try. She then noticed the massive crane. Leena aimed her shotgun at it and fired at least three grenades at it. As each one hit the massive crane, it very slowly started to malfunction and began swivelling to the side.

Only too late did the two Batarian heavies notice this and they failed to move in time. The large crane crashed right into them and crushed them both as it finally hit the other side of the cargo area.

"Huh, I don't believe it." said Griffin in surprise.

"You go, girl!" said Ventra as he gave Leena a friendly nudge.

"Stop calling me girl." said Leena.

* * *

 _"We're all clear, Shepard. It'll be dark in less than sixty."_ Austin heard Leena say.

"Balak's in that room. He's got someone else with him." said Liara.

"Then we do this by the book. Nice and carefully." Said Austin.

* * *

The lights suddenly went out and only the emergency lighting was now on.

"Damn it." Balak cursed.

"We need to go!" said the soldier urgently.

"I already told you, I'm not leaving the others!" said Balak as activated his omni blade.

"Most of them are already dead! Besides, if we leave, they have no reason to be here! We don't have much time." said the soldier.

"Actually, you don't have any time." said Austin as he and Liara suddenly deactivated their cloaks and materialised out of nowhere, guns at the ready.

"Shepard?!" said Balak and shock as he saw his old foe.

"Surprised to see me, Balak?" Austin asked, mockingly.

"You're supposed to be dead! You died 2 years ago!" the Batarian said angrily.

"I got better." Austin replied, causing Liara to chuckle a bit.

"And you… I remember you from last time. Your that Asari that's new to his squad." said Balak as he pointed at Liara.

The Asari simply remained silent.

"I'll give you some credit, Balak. You escaped from one of the most technologically advanced and smartest race in the galaxy. Not bad." said Austin.

"They need better security systems." said Balak.

"Perhaps you can tell them that yourselves?" said Liara demandingly.

"My thoughts exactly. You're coming with us, Balak. This is your last chance." said Austin.

"No. He's not going anywhere with you." said the soldier.

"We weren't wasn't asking you." said Liara.

The Asari then aimed her rifle at the soldier and fired. The shot hit the Batarian soldier right in the chest.

"NO!" Balak shouted, angrily.

However, the soldier instantly jumped back up and he unsheathed his extra-large knife. With lightning fast reflexes, he zoomed right up towards Austin and kicked him in Balak's direction.

Balak quickly reacted to this and punched Austin hard in the face, causing him to fall.

"Austin!" Liara yelled.

Balak quickly took out his pistol and fired at Liara, forcing the Asari to take cover behind a nearby crate. She managed to blind fire one shot before the soldier swung at her with his knife. Liara only managed another shot before the knife parried the gun out of her hands.

Right as the rifle flew out of her hands however, Liara instantly unsheathed her sword and it clashed with the soldier's knife.

Austin meanwhile had finally recovered from his earlier punch. He swung his leg, causing Balak to trip on it and fall. The helldiver rolled back onto his feet and went to bring his fist down on Balak's face. The Batarian just managed to troll out of the way as the Helldiver's fist smashed into the floor, creating a slight dent in the metal.

Balak instantly rolled back onto his feet too and reactivated his omni blade.

"This ends here, Shepard. This time you'll stay dead." the Batarian growled.

"Have it your way, Balak. It's your funeral." said Austin as he unsheathed Excalibur from his back and stood up, Balak did the same.

Similar to their previous fights, Austin left his shield on his back. When it came to duels, he preferred to fight in the more traditional way. The two opponents attacked and sparks flew as their blades clashed with one another. Austin couldn't help but feel a somewhat nostalgic feel as he once again seemed to be fighting this Batarian. Every time they had fought one another, Balak had always obtained some sort of injury. The most extreme had been when Excalibur had taken the Batarian's eye.

Balak made another swing, but it was too slow, allowing Austin to duck under it and then slide right between Balak's legs. The Helldiver then grabbed him from behind, flung him over his head and slammed him into the ground, hard. Austin then kicked him hard as the Batarian tried to get back up on his feet.

It was now two versus two as Liara battled with the soldier, and Austin with Balak. Both Austin and Liara where no really putting their fencing skills to the test, especially Liara since this was the sort of thing she had trained for.

Both groups clashed back and forth across the room. Sparks seemed to fly each time their blades made contact. The Batarian soldier was proving to be a fair challenge for Liara due to the ferocity and speed of his attacks.

Eventually, both Balak and the soldier forced Austin and Liara together, so they were now back to back. Both Batarians went into battle stances, ready to continue.

 _"This'll be interesting."_ Austin thought.

 _"That it will."_ he heard Liara say.

There was something slightly different about her voice. It was almost as though...

 _"Did we just hear each other's thoughts?"_ he asked in his mind. He'd know if Liara replied in the same way.

 _"Yes... yes we did."_ Liara replied, sounding just as surprised as he was.

 _"How's that possible? How are we communicating telepathically?"_ Austin asked.

 _"Do you remember something I said when we had our first union?"_ Liara replied.

_"Not sure I... Oh!"_

Austin then remembered what Liara had once said on the night before Ilos when they had first truly joined their minds. If a Union bond was strong enough and done enough time, some side effects could be the ability for bond mates to hear each other's thoughts.

 _"Yes. You mentioned something about a telepathic link. But why are we suddenly able to do it now? We didn't use to be able to."_ he asked.

 _"Must be both our adrenalines. This the first time we've actually thought side by side. Any other times we've just been sparring or fighting other opponents, but never the same."_ Liara thought.

Still the two Batarians dared not move yet. At least the good thing about this new telepathy was that no one else could hear what they were saying to one another. That then gave Austin an idea.

 _"You know, this might not be a bad thing. In fact, I think we can use this to our advantage."_ he thought.

 _"How?"_ he heard Liara reply.

 _"Think about it. We can speak to each other without anyone else hearing. We can warn each other of attacks an enemy's we ourselves might not see. If you ask me, I'd say that with practice, we can use this to coordinate each other's attacks."_ Austin suggested.

 _"No bond mates have ever tried it that way before."_ said Liara. _"But that doesn't mean it isn't possible. With some practice, it may work."_

 _"No time like the present then."_ said Austin.

" _Bring it on then."_

"We'll have both your heads as trophies." said Balak intimidatingly.

Both Austin and Liara looked at one another for a minute as their thoughts returned to the two Batarians they were fighting. Austin nodded to her and the two twirled their swords before going into fighting stances as well.

"You want our heads? Come and get them!" said Austin.

Both Batarians lunged at their opponents and the fight resumed.

The telepathy did take some getting used to. Talking to each other didn't really do the trick as their reactions just weren't fast enough. Saying things like, "to the left" "behind you" or even "look out" weren't as effective as they could've been.

Soon however, quite by accident, Austin managed to find the secret. He saw the soldier thrust at Liara while her back was turned. His thoughts instantly pictured it. Just as he was about to speak, Liara whirled around and blocked the blow before then delivering a sharp kick to the soldier.

Austin then felt something in his head, something instantly telling him that Balak was right behind him. He instantly looked back and thrust. Balak only just managed to avoid Excalibur's blade.

Now the two bond mates knew how they could use their bond in combat. They didn't say their strategies to one another, they simply had to think them.

Both Batarians where really struggling now. The two Helldivers had suddenly got even better. Every attack they tried was either blocked or a sudden thrust would interrupt them as Austin or Liara would coordinate their thrusts so that they went around the other to then hit their target. A good tactic that had the element of surprise. Sometimes, one of them would even duck so that the other could then swing over them.

In all his life, Balak had never seen such coordination and skill. They practically seemed to fight as though the where one. It even felt like fighting someone with four arms.

" _Now we're getting the hang of it!"_ Austin thought.

" _Indeed. All that training and sparring is paying off."_ Liara thought back.

Austin ducked again and quickly thought it. Liara instantly reacted. She kicked the soldier first and then swung her leg over her bond mate and knocked Balak across the face. The soldier swung at Liara but she then ducked under it as Austin instantly sent a warning thought to her. The continued on for several long minutes. Neither side had the advantage at the moment, but the telepathic bond was proving very useful.

The battle continued to rage on before the two Helldivers eventually gained the upper hand. Liara made several hard strikes against the Batarian soldier before kicking him away. Balak quickly followed from behind. Liara was quick however to parry his lunge and then delivered a kick to his face.

Only too late did Balak notice Austin as he staggered and he was unable to bring his omni blade up in time. Excalibur carved right through his red armour and deep wound was instantly on his chest.

The Batarian soldier meanwhile had recovered and was once again duelling Liara. The Asari's skill and speed however served her well. A sudden uppercut from her knocked the Batarian's knife out of his hand. As it flipped in the air however, the soldier caught it, this time holding it back hand.

Austin was fortunately was able to see this and he quickly sent another thought to Liara so that she was made aware of the Batarian's next move.

As the Batarian swung, Liara back flipped. The knife just narrowly missed her. The Asari then very cleverly kicked the knife with her feet causing it to fly out of the soldier's hand and become embedded high in the ceiling.

Liara then swung leg at the Batarian's, tripping him up. As the soldier slowly got up, he only just noticed Austin swing Excalibur at him and just barely moved in time.

As the soldier rolled out of the way, something rather surprising happened. To Austin's somewhat surprise, the soldier then seemed to somehow split into two. Now there where two soldiers standing next to one another.

" _Now that's cheating."_ Austin thought. _"No matter though. Two can play at that game."_

Using his free hand, the Helldiver unsheathed his combat knife and he swung both that and Excalibur at the two soldiers. The hologram naturally disappeared due to the distortion while the knife slashed the Batarian's side. Austin then quickly followed this by running him through, Excalibur's Kartalrium blade cleaving right through his armour, flesh, and bone.

The soldier went limp and Austin pushed him off of his blade. Right as he and Liara turned to Balak however, they found an unwelcome sight.

Balak had a colonist in his arms with a gun pointed at her head.

"You sneaky son of a bitch." Said Austin coldly as he and Liar appointed their guns at him.

"You let me leave, or she dies." Said Balak.

"Not gonna make us drop our guns?" said Liara.

"I'm not a fool. I know I can't kill you with this." Said Balak.

"Please! Help me!" the woman nearly cried.

"It's alright. We're not gonna let him hurt you." Said Austin calmly.

"Let me leave and she's all yours. Your try anything and you'll have her death on your hands." Said Balak.

"Alright. Just give her to us." Said Austin.

"How do I know you won't shoot me if I do?" the Batarian retorted.

"There is such a thing as Helldiver nobility, even if you don't think so. Besides, our orders where to take you alive. You're no good to us dead. So for now, you leave us no choice but to let you go." Said Austin.

"This isn't over, Shepard. Not by a long shot!" said Balak.

He then pushed the colonist towards Austin who caught her in his arms. The Batarian then hurried through a nearby door, and pressed a button. The door closed and sealed itself.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" the colonist sobbed into Austin's arms.

"It's okay. You're safe now." Said Austin calmly.

"I thought you'd let him kill me for a minute."

"That's not how we work." Said Liara as she patted the colonist on the shoulder and simply nodded to her bond mate.

* * *

The Arkane council had been a bit disappointed that Balak had got away, but they were happy that the colony was secure again, and after reading Austin's report on the hostage situation, they understood his decision to let Balak go. Part of the Helldiver code was to never let an innocent life be killed, even if it meant aborting the mission.

Overall, the call to the council had gone slightly better than Austin had hoped for. Since he expected that another crew member would have another mission they wanted done soon, he decided to simply pass the time again. This time, he decided to have a chat with Miranda. See how she was doing.

"Major, what can I do for you?" she asked as she took notice of him.

"Do you have a minute, Miranda?" Austin asked.

"Of course. I'd been meaning to speak with you, in fact." said Miranda as she stood up from her desk and walked over to the couch she had in her quarters. Both she and Austin sat down on it.

"I… wanted to apologise. I didn't fully believe you or this squad would be up to the task when Jacob and I defected. It seems I was wrong. Frankly, based on what I've seen, I'm starting to think that maybe… maybe joining Cerberus was a mistake." said Miranda.

"You don't sound totally convinced. Look, if you have something you want to get off your chest, do so." said Austin.

"Was that a reference too…?" Miranda asked slightly cross

"I… sorry. That slipped out." said Austin, rather embarrassed by saying that. He should have thought about that before saying it.

"Don't worry. I've had a lot worse jokes about my body, believe me." Miranda chuckled slightly "Anyway, you are somewhat right. There are still aspects about Cerberus that I still believe are right, but now seeing things from a different perspective… well..."

"What's bothering you, Miranda? Are you still worried about your sister?" Austin asked.

"No. Not at all. I know that she'll be safe where she has, and she has you and the Arkanes protecting her now. I couldn't be happier with that." said Miranda. "It's just that… I worked for Cerberus for so long. It's hard to see them in the way you see them, to see them for what they really are. I'm slowly beginning to see why it is you and the others have kept your distance."

"You had plenty of opportunities to stab us in the back, yet you haven't' taken them. Plus, the fact that you were willing to trust us with your sister's safety really does say something." said Austin.

"I… I hadn't realized… Thank you. I thought you'd always hate me because I was Cerberus. Thought you'd never forgive me." said Miranda, somewhat lost for words.

"I trust you, but I don't trust Cerberus. Your experiments cross the line." said Austin.

"All the time, yes. But just in the interest of fairness, I'll bet some Helldivers have crossed a few lines from time to time." said Miranda.

"Only when we have to, Miranda. It's only ever as a last resort." said Austin, a bit more seriously this time.

"It's funny. The Illusive Man said the same thing to me, and yet some of those experiments seemed as though they'd been done without a second thought. That Experiment 13 was a prime example." said Miranda.

"What was Cerberus trying to prove by experimenting on children like Jack?" Austin asked.

"A mistake. No question. Not mine." Miranda replied.

"Careful she doesn't hear you say that, Miranda. Even now, she's still looking for an excuse to kill you." said Austin.

"That mistake was corrected once we discovered the extent of the experiments being performed. We helped stop it." said Miranda.

"Forgive me for asking this, Miranda. I expect you've been asked it a hundred times, but with your intelligence, you could've landed any job you wanted. Why choose Cerberus?" Austin asked.

"Because I still envy the time Mordin spent with the Special Tasks Group, working with people as smart as he was. Cerberus never tells me something is impossible. They give me my orders and say, "Do it." said Miranda. "And yet the Arkanes have given you more. Your suit gave you a new life; they gave you a new ship and even their personal attention…"

"What, you disapprove?" said Austin.

"No! I'm just impressed. You're… well, look at you." said Miranda. "You're quite a mystery to many. Few people know where you came from. Even Cerberus doesn't know your full history…"

She then stood up and walked towards the window, looking out into the deepness of space.

"And you've done more than I could. Despite everything my father did to make me perfect, you're… you're the best humanity has to offer, even for a Helldiver." she said.

"No offense, Miranda. But does it always have to come back to this? I get that you were designed to be perfect." said Austin, doing his best to hide the boredom in his voice.

"This is what I am, Shepard. I can't hide it. The intelligence, the looks, the body, even the biotics… he paid for all of that. Every one of your accomplishments is due to your skill. The only things I can take credit for are my mistakes." said Miranda, regrettably.

"I can't admire you're body or your mind? You give your father too much credit. Yeah, he gave you gifts. But you can be proud of what you've done with them." said Austin reassuringly.

"Oh. Thank you." said Miranda, rather flattered by this.

The Ex-Cerberus operative then turned to face Austin, giving a somewhat seductive pose. "Perhaps I wouldn't mind if you admired my body."

Austin quickly realized what he'd just said and how Miranda could so easily take that wrong.

"Oh god." he groaned. "Miranda, I am so sorry. I didn't mean it like that. What is the matter with me today? I'm blurting things out that I shouldn't."

"You're just saying that. Don't try to hide it. I've seen the way you and all the men look at me." Miranda smiled at him suggestively.

"What? No! No, it's nothing like that! I just…" Austin said, now for the first time in many years utterly lost for words. "Excuse me. I'm gonna leave now before I make this any worse."

Without even giving Miranda a chance to speak, the Helldiver quickly left the room, sealing the door behind him.

" _What the hell is wrong with you, Austin?!"_ he cursed in his head as he made his way to the elevator. Spending some time in his quarters would hopefully allow him to clear his mind.

Miranda meanwhile was left simply standing where she was. Despite this though, she still smiled as she watched her doors close.

"You can hide it all you want, Shepard. But I know what you're really thinking. I'm not scared. I'm cautious, but interested. Very interested..."

* * *

 **Uh-Oh! Looks like Liara might have a rival... As a bit of clarification, I'm only doing this for fun. Miranda's body is just too sexy to not at least see naked.** **There is going to be a sex scene with her eventually, but it will be like the one I did with Kelly. I'm never going to have Shepard willingly cheat on Liara.**

**Next chapter will be Jacob's mission, and I promise you now that I won't take as long with that one as I did with this one.**

**Until next time! Please do leave reviews (preferably some very detailed ones if you can) some of them have been a bit sparse recently.**


	31. Chapter 31, Gifts of Greatness

**Hello all!**

**As quite a few people said, Jacob's mission is kind of boring. So as a result, I've simply done a quick and brief version. The rest of this though should still be good. A bit of character development and also a nice threesome.**

**Like** **to thank Mastermind4892 a lot for contributing his ideas to this and helping to shape it out better. This probably wouldn't have been as good without him.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 31**

**Gifts of Greatness**

Jacob had been the next one that Kelly had told him was distracted. Austin was quick to talk to him on that subject.

"Kelly tells me you've got something on your mind. Care to share?" he asked.

"Yeah. Sorry, I'm a little unfocused. Personal matter. It won't' affect my duties." Said Jacob.

"Jacob, I always have time for my crew. Tell me what's bothering you. Perhaps I can help." Said Austin.

"As I said, it's a personal matter. I don't want to waste our time if it turns out to be a goose chase. But…" Jacob was silent for a moment before he finally spoke. "Well, I got pinged by a ghost the other night. Family."

"I'm listening." Said Austin, crossing his arms.

"My private log got an update about the Hugo Gernsback, the ship my father served on. It sent an SOS last week, reporting a crash and requesting rescue. Shepard, that ship went missing ten years ago. I hadn't talked to my father for three years before that. I've buried everything but a body. I'm not convinced it isn't just some automated distress signal ticking over. It's been too long." Jacob explained.

"I'd think you'd be more excited that your father might be alive." Said Austin.

"He wasn't around enough for me to have bad memories. It's an old well-healed wound. But if he's actually alive and needs help… I also want to note that it's not normal procedure to be routed to the Normandy. This was passed to my personal log. Through Helldiver filters, of course. Cut all ties with Cerberus." Said Jacob.

"You didn't get along with your father?" Austin asked.

"He made no apologies, I'll give him that. You make a mistake, you own up to it, even if you keep making it. Whatever we had were a lifetime ago. I've had ten years to get to where I am. And as far as I know, he's still a ghost." Jacob replied.

"I think we can spare the time. Pass the coordinates to Joker." Said Austin.

"I appreciate that, Major. I don't expect more than dusty old bones, but it'll be good to close the record." said Jacob, gratefully.

* * *

Aeia was indeed a very nice place. It was the perfect example of what a tropical paradise was. Sunny weather, palm trees, the sound of the waves crashing, it had the lot. Austin and Jacob disembarked with Kasumi and Urz following behind them.

The large crashed wreckage of the Gernsback could be seen in the distance. From the looks of it, it seemed mostly intact. It hadn't even been stripped that much.

After some time of exploring the wreckage, they came across what looked like a VI.

"From the look of it, this beacon's been here awhile. Why would they wait years to signal?" said Jacob.

 _Pause in beacon protocol, eight years, 237 days, seven hours. Pause is recorded as: RECORD DELETED by Acting Captain Ronald Taylor."_ the VI replied.

"That's not right. My father was first officer." said Jacob.

" _Ronald Taylor was promoted under emergency command protocols. Other flagged issues: Unsafe deceleration. Local food and neural decay. Beacon activation protocols."_ said the VI.

"Who's in command of this ship? Where are the survivors?" Austin asked.

" _Captain Harris Fairchild reported killed following unscheduled suborbital descent. First Officer Ronald Taylor promoted in field to acting Captain."_ the VI replied.

"But where is he now?" Jacob asked.

 _The location of the remaining crew of the Hugo Gernsback is unknown. This beacon has been unattended for several maintenance cycles."_ said the VI.

"I assume "unsafe deceleration" refers to the crash? Give me the details." said Austin.

 _"Following an unspecified impact and sublight drive failure, the Hugo Gernsback made an unscheduled descent at 465% of theoretical recommended sub-orbital velocity. The Hugo Gernsback then decelerated at 782% of theoretical recommended approach velocity, sustaining significant damage to investment and crew."_ the VI explained.

"Why wasn't the beacon activated before now?" Austin asked.

" _This emergency beacon became functional after 358 days, 12 hours, following the unscheduled suborbital descent of the Hugo Gernsback. Activation was triggered remotely after eight years, 237 days, seven hours, on the authority of acting Captain Ronald Taylor. Pause in beacon protocol is recorded as: RECORD DELETED."_ the VI replied.

"Something's not right here. Come on, let's get going." said Austin.

Right at that moment however, a woman suddenly ran out at them.

"You came? From the sky? The leader said someone would come! He delayed for so long, but he still has power! Some have lost faith. The hunters! They will have seen your star. They will not let you help him." she said.

Everyone was left very confused by this. She almost hadn't made any sense at all.

"What are you talking about? You're not making sense." said the Helldiver.

"I – I, uh… I don't remember how to say it. He's our leader, and we serve so… we can go home. But some want to fight him. They were – they were cast out. He exiled them, so they hunt his machines and those who help him. They don't believe that rescue will come." said the woman.

At that moment, a man suddenly popped out from behind some wreckage and aimed his gun at the woman.

"Watch out!" Austin yelled as he pushed the woman out of the way. The shot just missed and instead impacted on the Helldiver's armour.

"Hunters! They won't stop until the leader is dead!" said the woman.

"Kill them! Agents of the liar! He will not escape!"

Despite their ruthlessness though, the hunters weren't' armoured or equipped at all, so the group was able to deal with them almost instantly.

"So, that's "neural decay," huh? They just seemed regular old crazy to me." said Kasumi.

"My father wouldn't let this go on. Something is very wrong." said Jacob.

Austin looked back to where the woman was. She seemed almost petrified with fright.

Are you alright?" Austin asked.

"You killed them, but there are more every day. They want to fight, but I just want to go home." She said.

"She's lost it. We need to find someone who can make sense of this." Said Jacob.

* * *

After a short while, they could see what looked like a small settlement in the distance.

"Is that a settlement ahead? They'd better be friendlier than the beach group. I need answers." Jacob commented.

"They're wearing the same uniform as the ones who attacked us, but they don't look ready for a fight." Kasumi commented.

Austin looked around. The Thief was right; these people where wearing the same uniform but did not look hostile.

"There aren't any men here. Maybe it affects genders differently? Makes males get violent?" said Austin.

"Perhaps." Said Kasumi.

It was true. There were no men, only women. They didn't seem to be frightened or intimidated by the sudden appearance of two new people, a Helldiver and a Varren.

"It doesn't matter right now. One of these people must know what my father has to do with this!" said Jacob.

"You have is face! He promised to call the sky, but he sends nothing. He forced us to eat, to… decay. You are cursed with his face!" said one of the women.

"Not the best reaction to the family resemblance, Jacob." said Austin.

"They just don't know how handsome you are, Jacob." Said Kasumi, trying to sound suggestive as she winked at Jacob.

"Why would my father force his crew to eat toxic food? Whatever's happening here needs to stop." said Jacob.

Still the women mostly ignored them while they walked around the camp. But that didn't stop them from making the group believe that they weren't welcome.

"What the hell?! Someone had to push them to make that. That's borderline worship!" said Jacob as he observed a large man made structure in the middle of the camp.

A small squad of mechs suddenly appeared. They appeared to have one of the women at gunpoint.

"You're Captain demands discipline! Weapons are not permitted." Said one of them.

Like the hunters though, they were easy to deal with.

Right as the group turned to leave though, the woman that the mechs had been threatening stopped them.

"Please! Wait! You… you fought his machines. You have his face, but you might stop this. This… I forget how to… read, but this… was the start. What he promised, and what they did to us. We need the sky. Take us back to the sky." she said as she handed a pad to Jacob.

"Jacob? What does it say?" Austin asked.

"It's a crew logbook. Some of them thought the beacon repair was taking too long. They were afraid they'd run out of supplies and lose their minds to the decay. My father restricted the ship food for himself and the other officers so they wouldn't be affected. Everybody else had to eat the toxic food and hope for treatment later. The rest is a casualty list. A few mutinied over the decision. My father and the officers turned the mechs on them." said Jacob as he read the pad.

"He wasn't command material, and it got to him. Couldn't keep the crew in line without violence." said Austin.

"It didn't stop there. More incidents, harsh punishments. It's like they're cattle. Or toys. In a year, all the male crew members are flagged as "exiled" or dead. They separated out the women. Assigned them to officers like pets. And after the beacon is fixed, the officers appear in the casualties, too. After! My father took control and didn't stop it." said Jacob, now sounding very appalled.

"So why call for help now?" Austin asked.

"The surviving males are changing. Everything he did is coming back to bit him in the ass. Nine years. Why didn't he set it right? I need to find this man." said Jacob.

* * *

After several long fights with some of the other crew and the mechs, they finally found Ronald Taylor. True enough, he looked very much like Jacob himself. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to recognize his own son at first.

"You're here! I knew a real squad would blow through just fine. Sorry if the mechs scuffed your pads. I'll get you something nice when we get back to Alliance space. I got to have some back-pay coming." he said.

"What about your crew, Acting Captain?" Jacob asked coldly.

"Total loss. The toxic food turned them wild. They propped me up here in some kind of ritual behaviour. Waiting for a chance to signal has been hell." Taylor replied.

"That's the best you can do?" Jacob asked as he shook his head.

"You let all your people talk back like that… uh… who are you, exactly?" Taylor asked.

"Major Austin Shepard of the Helldivers. I believe you're acquainted with Mr Taylor?" Austin replied.

"Taylor?! Jacob. No, not Jacob." said Taylor.

"Why not me? Would ten years of this look better to anybody else?!" Jacob retaliated.

"You have to understand. This isn't' me. The realities of command, they change you. I wasn't' ready for that. I made sure you were taught right. Before I left. I had hoped to leave it at that." said Taylor.

"I'm not unreasonable, Captain. But ten years? What happened?" Austin asked.

"Goddammit, why did you do this to your crew?" said Jacob.

"There was resistance to the plan. Mutiny. We had to take a hard line to keep order. And things settled down. As the decay set it in, we made sure the crew were comfortable. Some even seemed happier. Ignorance is bliss, right? And they were grateful for guidance, like an instinct. Pure authority was… easy. At first. Month in, the effect lowered inhibitions. They got territorial. Rank, protocol – they couldn't understand. We had to establish dominance. After a while the perks seemed... normal." Taylor replied.

"That's it? You created a harem and played king? Ten years in a juvenile fantasy?" Jacob asked.

"I can't point to where it all went wrong. But when the beacon was ready, revealing what happened didn't seem like a good idea." said Taylor.

"You didn't feel any responsibility to get out of here for the sake of family?" said Kasumi.

"I gave him a good start. He was a smart kid and was better off not following me. We figured that out a long time before I took jobs in deep space. And, after things escalated here, it seemed best to just disappear off the galactic map." Taylor replied.

"Until you needed someone to save your ass." said Jacob.

"We can help these people. The Arkanes can have ships here in days and pull everyone out." said Austin.

"He's not worth the fuel to haul him out, or the air he's breathing. He' dammed lucky I don't even think he's worth pulling the trigger." said Jacob as he pointed his pistol at his father. After a small while though, he lowered it. "I don't know who you are. Because you're not any father I remember."

"We'll secure him for an Alliance court. For every year here, he'll have ten to think about it." said Austin.

"Give him all the time in the galaxy. The man who did this doesn't know right from wrong." said Jacob.

"I'm sorry, Jacob. I did the best I could." said Taylor regrettably.

"I'm ten years past believing that."

* * *

 _"Helldiver ships are inbound to secure Captain Taylor and his crew, Major."_ said Joker.

"Best we get out of their way and let them do their job." said Austin.

 _"Roger that."_ Joker replied.

Austin went into the comm room to find Jacob on call.

"What do you mean, it wasn't you?"

Austin stepped into the grid to find Jacob talking with the Arkane Council. Jacob didn't look happy with them. Mind you, the same couldn't really be said of the Council either.

"Mr Taylor, if we had passed the information about the Gernsback to you, we would be smiling at your resolution of the situation." said Spartan.

"As you can see, we are not smiling." Tarnack finished.

"You're sure about this, Councillors? I mean no disrespect, but this seems like the sort of thing you'd be the first to know about. Besides, nothing goes through my ship without a report to you." said Austin.

"We never lie, Shepard. Especially to our own. Mr Taylor may have once been the enemy, but he chose to turn away from that path. Even if we still don't trust him, that does not mean we should withhold anything. Information about family would never have been withheld either. said one of the councillors.

"We had no more reason to believe his father his father was alive than he did." said Tarnack.

"Still, we are happy to know the situation is behind you." said Spartan.

"Fine. You didn't forward it. So who did?" Jacob asked.

"I did."

A third figure then joined them. It was Miranda.

"You forwarded sensitive information to Jacob without notifying the Council? Miranda, are you insane?!" Austin nearly shouted. "Was this supposed to be a favour, or did you just want to see him squirm?"

"What he did with it was his own business. There was a time when it mattered to you. Sending this along seemed like keeping an old promise. I keep my promises." Miranda said to Jacob.

To say that the Arkane Council was furious with this was a very mild understatement. Many of them looked just about ready to tell Austin to arrest Miranda on the spot. Only Spartan and Tarnack though seemed to remain calm and keep their composure. They had both been on the Council the longest, so they had seen far worse. There was still a hint of bitterness in their voice though.

"Miss Lawson and Mr Taylor, we will discuss your liberal interpretation of security protocol in private. Shepard, if you would step outside?" said Spartan.

"As you wish, Councillors." said Austin as he bowed his head and left. He was actually glad he was being sent out. He'd much rather not see how bad this would get.

* * *

Several long painful minutes passed. Austin could already hear the faint muffled sounds of angry shouting, mostly Miranda's.

A short while later, the door opened and Miranda practically stormed out. She didn't even look at Austin once as she left. It was clear that she was in a bad mood. Jacob shortly followed.

"How'd it go?" Austin asked.

Not well if I'm honest." Jacob replied. "Miranda's now got the Arkane's monitoring her every move. They said that she should count herself lucky that they didn't see this as a betrayal and that she' still in the ranks. To say that Miranda's in a bad mood because of this wouldn't be the phrase I would use."

"You good with this, Jacob?" Austin asked.

"It's all bull, Shepard. Captain Taylor can rot in prison – it doesn't change who I am or what I know. I've already mourned the man he used to be. I guess he was a good enough father that even he can't screw up what he taught me." said Jacob.

"You had no idea Miranda was behind this?"

"She's got a good memory. Selective, but good. I haven't thought about those days in a long time. Can't figure which promise she meant, though. Not sure I really want to know. She… requires a better man than I."

"Come on. We've got work to do."

"Aye, Major." "Shepard? Thanks for the help."

"Anytime, Jacob."

The two men shook hands before they finally departed, Jacob heading back to his usual spot in the armoury, and Austin heading down to crew area. He had something else that he needed to take care of.

* * *

With Jacob's father now dealt with, Austin could concentrate on something more important, his telepathic link with Liara. They had thought at first about talking to Samara with this, but because she was a Justicar and had most likely not had any bond mates for a long time, they decided Alaara and Sandra would be the wiser choice. They were all sat in the Normandy's dining area just outside the medbay and Miranda's quarters. So far, the Ex-Cerberus operative hadn't come out after her earlier talk with the Arkanes, but Austin reckoned she'd come round.

"A link like this isn't uncommon you know. Hundreds of bond mate couples can do it eventually. We're one of them." said Sandra.

"And you never told us about this?" Austin asked.

"And spoil the surprise for you? It's like you don't know us at all, Shepard." said Sandra.

"So how did you first find out about your mind link?" Liara asked curiously.

"I actually already knew about it a long time ago when I was your age." Said Alaara. "This is gonna sound a bit wrong, but… my parents… showed me."

"You…?" Liara went to say, but Alaara stopped her.

"It's nothing I'm proud of. It was enlightening and fun, but that's it. And I'd rather not talk about it." Said Alaara.

"How is it though that this mind link has only started happening now? It's been almost three years now since we had our first Union." Austin asked.

"I'm not sure, to be honest. The only good conclusion I can think of is that because you've been in a coma for two years, and have now just started having Union again on such a regular basis, you're bond's finally had a chance to grow strong enough." said Alaara. "After all, it's hard to ignore the many moans we hear at night.

Sandra however gave her wife a slight nudge after she said that.

"This isn't something to be joked about lightly, Alaara. They've not been together as long as we have and Liara is also much younger than you. You're nearly 310, she's still only 109." she said.

"How long have you been together?" Liara asked curiously.

"Oooooh, it's been so long now that I've lost count." said Sandra.

"I think it's been... eight years now? Was it eight?" Alaara asked as she tried to remember.

"I think it's ten years now actually. You became bond mates about three years after we all first met." said Austin.

"Goddess, has it been that long?" Alaara asked, surprised.

"Feels like a lifetime ago. Shepard was still a Commander, we all knew nothing about each other, and look at us now. You'd never believe the sort of things that happened to us in this day and age." said Sandra.

"To think I missed out on so much of that." Liara sighed as she cuddled up to Austin.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Liara." he said.

Both Alaara and Sandra smiled at one another and held hands.

"There any other Union secrets we might want to know about?" Austin asked.

"You can also share dreams with one another, but I think you already knew that. That's always the first stage and happens as soon as a Union is done. The other affects come after it's used a lot more. You could say that it's the side effect of a very healthy relationship." said Alaara.

"Hardly unexpected considering how much you two love one another." Sandra smiled.

Liara remained silent for a little while before she spoke again.

"Sandra, if you don't mind me asking, are you Russian?" she asked.

Sandra was silent for a while. She was a bit surprised that Liara had asked her that.

"Yes I am actually. How did you guess?" she replied.

"It's just that occasionally your voice has the faintest hints of a Russian accent, even though you mostly sound Canadian. It made me start to wonder if you have a Russian heritage." said Liara.

"Hmm. Well, I guess there's no harm in you knowing since you asked." said Sandra. "There's a somewhat interesting story behind that."

"I've heard it before from her, but to you two this should be something new." said Alaara as she sat back in her seat.

"Both my parents were born and grew up in Russia. It was a somewhat difficult time since the first contact war had just ended. My parents you see hadn't married, they were still dating. Sometime later into their relationship, my mother found out that she was pregnant. It had happened by accident. When she told my father, in a fit of rage he revealed that she'd just been a fling for fun and that he was married. My mother left in anger. Despite her temptation however, she decided not to get an abortion. Unfortunately, she died in child birth, leaving me as an orphan." said Sandra.

"That's horrible. How did you survive?" Liara asked as Austin put his arm around her for comfort.

"I grew up on the streets, learning to look after myself." Sandra replied.

"Didn't your mother have any relatives?" Austin asked.

"No. My mother had a close friend, but she had so many financial problems that she couldn't' afford to look after me. So I was forced to grow up on the streets, learned to look out for myself." said Sandra. "For most of my youth, I stayed in Russia occasionally finding a temperamental home in a small orphanage. During the day, I went out to try and see if there was any way to get some money. Nights, I spent in the orphanage. It was better than having to sleep outside. You ever tried to sleep outside in sub-zero temperatures without a blanket and hardly any warmth? Nightmare!"

"That still doesn't' fully explain how you sound more American than Russian." said Liara.

"It wasn't until my teenage years that I eventually left Russia. I journeyed to America and soon found myself on the streets of New York. I remained there and eventually learned to speak English. I guess being around so many Americans eventually just caused me to lose my Russian accent." Said Sandra.

"If that's so though, then how did you ever manage to get to where you are now?" Liara asked.

"Not long after I arrived, I ended up joining a gang who often took in orphans and looked after them. While this finally gave me an actual home and people I could actually call family, it did give me a small bit of responsibility." Sandra explained. "You see, because this gang often took in so many children who were homeless and simply looked after them, they became enemies of nearly every other gang out there as they were being robbed of potential recruits. So we all had to be very careful and learn to look out for each other. The gang even taught some of us to listen out and observe for rumours. I in particular became extremely good at eavesdropping and listening to conversations. I could even overhear certain things in a noisy crowd. It was this sort of talent that eventually got me into communications. I started practicing around with communication channels and tried to listen out for many gang messages so that we could always move to a different spot if they found us or we could hide."

"Why eventually leave to become a Helldiver then?" Liara asked.

"The gang often looks after children until they're old enough. By the time they reach the age 21 they're expected to have got a decent job, earned some money, and have a place to stay." Said Sandra. "I eventually heard about Helldiver recruits. The gang felt that my talent for communications might help so they encouraged me to accept. I left the gang when I hit the age of 19 and enlisted. And here I am now."

"Hmm, right within ravaging range." Alaara teased as she rubbed Sandra's leg.

"Darling, behave." said woman sternly.

"Or what?" Alaara asked seductively.

The Asari then sent an image into her bond mates head, causing Sandra to moan in surprised pleasure as she felt the feelings of her lover eating her pussy.

"We both know you always forgive me no matter what." Alaara finished, smiling evilly at her wife's flushed expression.

"It works that way as well?" Austin asked.

"Oh yes. You can transmit feelings, thoughts images, almost anything you can think of, literally." Alaara smiled cheekily. "It can even be used to change the way someone's feelings. For example, if one isn't in the best mood, you can use your own feelings to cheer them up."

"And unfortunately for me, I can never keep my wife under control. Not to mention there's a particularly sexual image she knows that always gets me off." Sandra sighed, doing her best to resist the urge to rub her nether region.

 _"Hmmm. Let me test that."_ Liara thought as she touched Austin's hand and sent a thought into his mind.

Austin temporarily was left speechless as Liara transmitted an image of her, masturbating furiously in his quarters without climax and begging him to come find her, into his mind.

When the Helldiver gave her a somewhat shocked look, she simply smiled.

"Just practicing." she said very innocently with puppy dog eyes.

"Later." he chuckled as he kissed her on the forehead.

Despite this though, Liara couldn't help but squirm a little with anticipation, as sleeping hours where less than an hour away.

Both Alaara and Sandra simply chuckled.

'You're a fast learner, young one." said Alaara in a joking wise voice as though she was a teacher and Liara was a student.

"Learned from the best." Liara smiled.

"You've no idea." Sandra chuckled.

"Well, I think it's about time we turned in for the night. Darling?" said Sandra as she looked at the time.

"Still a bit early, isn't it?" Alaara asked, a bit confused.

"I've got a reward for you for giving me that image earlier." Said Sandra as she winked at her wife.

"Ohhhh! I see." Alaara smiled slyly. "Shepard, if you'll excuse us."

"Have fun." Austin smiled as the two Helldivers left. "Ready to go to bed too?" he asked as Liara snuggled up to him.

"You go ahead and get ready. I have something I just quickly want to take care of." Said Liara.

"Don't take too long, love." Said Austin as he kissed her on the forehead again and got up from his seat.

As the Major headed for the elevator, it suddenly opened and Miranda stepped out, causing Austin to very nearly bump into her.

"Oh. Sorry, Miranda. I didn't know you were in there." He said apologetically.

"Shepard." Miranda nodded, smiling slightly. Austin didn't' notice it, but she even winked at him.

As the Ex-Cerberus operative passed him, he caught a whiff of something. An extremely good and somewhat arousing smell.

Last time they had been on Omega, Miranda had bought a new type of perfume that she'd never tried before. She was told that it had some new type of pheromone in it and had hoped to wear it today. Ever since her last talk with Austin, the Helldiver had been trying to mostly stay clear of her after what he'd accidently said. Little did he know that he'd also got her interested in him.

Miranda walked past Austin as she headed back to her quarters. Austin was left simply standing there for a while before he snapped out of it and got into the elevator. He couldn't deny however that he felt rather hot and he could even feel his cock slowly enlarging as it filled with warm blood. Not just that, but there also someone constantly on his mind, Miranda.

Liara had finished up changing. The little thing she'd told Austin she wanted to take care of was actually a cover-up. In truth, she'd just needed some time to apply some temporary body paint on herself. The body paint would glow in very faint lights and would eventually dissolve in about 5 hours or so, more than enough time for Shepard to enjoy her with it.

As she stepped into the elevator however, she suddenly felt something flash in her mind.

* * *

Austin was stood in front of the galaxy map and was just walking to the elevator. As it opened however, Miranda suddenly stepped out.

"Oh, pardon me, Major." She said very seductively as she stopped him.

The Ex-Cerberus operative then moved right up close to Austin and lowered her voice.

"I've cleared the engine room. Be there in five minutes." She whispered.

" _What does she think she's doing?! That's my bond mate she's trying to flirt with!"_ Liara thought as she saw the whole thing happen in front of her.

"Should've known you wouldn't settle for the Captain's quarters." Said Austin slyly.

" _What?! Did he just…"_

"I settle for nothing but the best." Miranda smiled as she stepped back into the elevator. She even winked at Austin as the doors closed.

* * *

Liara was left a bit confused by this. It was completely unlike Austin to do something like this. Then something occurred to her. Miranda had been in the elevator, there was only one elevator on the Normandy, and she was in it.

It wasn't possible that what she'd seen could've just happened. It was impossible. Then Liara remembered what Alaara and Sandra had just said. They could share images and dreams. She had a feeling that what she'd just seen was actually a dream.

Sure enough, her suspicions where confirmed when the doors opened. Austin was lying fast asleep on the bed. He had only the covers covering very little of his naked body and she could clearly see his member sticking up from under them like a tent pole. He was moaning a small bit, an obvious sign that his dream was an arousing one.

Then another image flashed in her mind as she saw even more of the dream.

* * *

Miranda was stood in front of the massive drive core, this time wearing her old Cerberus cat-suit. True to what she'd said earlier, it was completely clear. No sign of Tali or Ken and Gabby.

Austin then suddenly walked up behind her and wrapped both his hands around her curved waist and spun her round.

The Helldiver instantly set to work on plating several soft kisses on the Ex-Cerberus operative's neck. Miranda eagerly reciprocated while Austin propped her up on the console, breaking their kiss and shifting his aim lower, attacking the top part of Miranda's generous cleavage which was exposed by her skimpy, skin-tight latex uniform.

After a few short kisses, he then picked her up again. He only got a few centimetres though before he stumbled and felon his back with Miranda landing on top of him.

As Miranda straightened herself back up, she reached up for the hidden zipper on her outfit. An eager smile appeared on Austin's face as he watched Miranda' very slowly slide it down and he saw her outfit open up ever so slightly.

"Ohhhh, stop teasing me!" Austin moaned.

Miranda simply smiled very seductively as she slid the top portion of the outfit aside, exposing loads of her smooth skin and her massive breasts which where clad in a black bra.

* * *

Liara felt a powerful surge of jealous rage. However, it was not at Austin. She knew he was not to blame considering the effect her own pheromones had on him. In Asari culture, it was frowned upon to intoxicate a partner with drugs, stimulants pheromones, etc. There was no issue with it actually, just not to the point where it completely overwhelmed the partner where they just don't care anymore. They considered it taboo to rely solely on stimulants instead of their own natural skills.

Either way, Austin seemed to be enjoying this, maybe even a little too much.

"I can't have you do this. Sorry, my love, but I can't let you experience that type of pleasure. Not without me... keeping an eye on you." the Asari smiled naughtily.

Liara then glowed with Biotics and her clothes fell off her. She then slowly snuggled up to Austin, took his already erect cock in her hand and let her eyes go black as she joined with her sleeping bond mate's mind.

* * *

Austin had now torn Miranda's bra off, exposing her massive heaving breasts. They were a bit on the small side compared to Liara's, but they were still very large. The rest of Miranda's suit was still around her waist, but that didn't stop the Helldiver from grasping her gigantic ass.

"You weren't lying. Your father did get you the best genes money could buy. Your tits are so juicy." he said as he continued licking and sucking Miranda's large tits.

"I love your tongue playing with them." Miranda moaned.

At that moment, Austin suddenly saw Liara materialize out of nowhere. She was naked, apart from a black bra and underwear (his favourite type) this caused him to stop his attention on Miranda's breasts, whereas the Ex-Cerberus operative just seemed to try and catch her breath back.

"Liara? Is this a dream?" Austin asked, slightly surprised to see the love of his life here now while Miranda had just invited him to have sex with her.

"I'm afraid it is." Liara replied. "But I'm real."

"I get it. This is all happening in my dream, but you've joined minds with me." said Austin.

"I saw flashes of the dream. When I walked in, you where stirring in your sleep. Then I saw the dream fully." said Liara.

She was deliberately not joining in yet as she wanted to tease Austin and make this dream threesome a surprise for him.

"Ah! Love, I think I can explain why it is I'm dreaming about Miranda. Today she had this strange new perfume on. Must've stuck with me." Austin explained.

The dream Miranda was still panting in Austin's arms, oblivious to the fact that there was a half-naked Asari standing behind her.

"True. Not to mention that I've seen the way she's looking at you. I think she's got a crush on you." said Liara.

"Well I promise you now, that I'm never going to try anything with her. I don't even like her that much anyway. Only thing that does get my attention is her body."

"Exactly why I can't let you enjoy this dream..." said Liara.

"But..."

"...without me." Liara finished, smiling very seductively.

"You little minx." Austin smiled slyly.

Liara stripped herself of her underwear and knelt down behind Miranda as Austin resumed kissing her breasts.

"Nothing wrong with having a little fun. Besides, this is only a dream. Who's gonna know that we've dreamed about fucking Miranda. There are a few things I've wanted to do to her because she's such a bitch anyway."

"Who are you, and what have you done with my girlfriend?" Austin chuckled. Liara laughed along with this as she began moving her hands up and down Miranda's hourglass figure.

Austin now took one of Miranda's nipples into his mouth and started sucking.

"Are they big?" Liara asked as she planted a love bite on Miranda's neck.

"Yeah. They're huge, but… they're not as big as yours." Austin smiled as he switched from tit to tit.

"I wanna see. In the meantime, why don't you tear the rest of this outfit off?" Liara suggested.

Austin didn't object and stood up. There'd be more than enough time later to continue with Miranda's large breasts. It then suddenly occurred to him that he was still clothed.

"Why don't we give a little show for Miranda first? I'm the only one still clothed here." He said.

Liara couldn't help but smile and kissed Austin. She first focused on removing his shirt, causing Miranda to lick her lips as she saw his exposed chest, and then Liara slowly moved down until her face was in line with where his raging member was struggling to break free. She slowly unbuttoned his trousers and slid them down until the Helldiver was now left in nothing but his boxers.

Miranda had one of her breasts in her hand and was massaging it, breathing heavily as she saw the massive bulge. She was getting so inpatient to see it.

Liara could see Miranda's pure hunger and smiled evilly as she gripped her bond mate's boxers and began sliding them down as well. She did it at an agonisingly slow rate so that she could essentially torture Miranda. The Ex-Cerberus operative made a moan of desperation as she slowly watched Austin massive member come into view. The large head was already throbbing and the thick veins where beating as the blood flowed through them. Finally he was completely exposed and Liara threw the now useless shorts away.

The Asari took Austin's rock hard dick in her hand and started slowly stroking it.

"Mmmmmmm. Nice." Austin sighed, causing Liara to smile at him.

Miranda was panting so hard that she was practically sweating. Both Austin and Liara could see this and they nodded to one another. They were ready to enjoy the next stage of this.

"Strip!" Austin ordered.

Miranda immediately obeyed and she brought the zip on her outfit down fully. More and more of her smooth skin was slowly exposed as she peeled the tight cat suit off. Both Austin and Liara had sat down and where touching each other as they watched Miranda strip. The Ex-Cerberus operative even swung her wide hips around a bit to add to the little show.

Finally, Miranda had got her outfit as low as it would currently go. The whole of her upper body was now exposed all the way to her waist. Now no longer restricted at all, her massive tits now hung there, moving up and down with Miranda's panting, the sweat from her body only adding to amazing view as she glistened from the lights.

Miranda then turned around so that she had her back to the couple and bent down. Both Austin and Liara gave approving nods to one another as Miranda practically stuck her ass out at them while she unzipped both her long, leg high, boots.

With those now gone, there was nothing to get in the way of the rest of Miranda's outfit coming off.

"She may be a bitch, but that's a great ass!" said Liara.

"She's got nothing on you though, love." said Austin as he gave Liara a small kiss on the cheek.

Miranda continued sliding the suit down until it stopped at where the black straps around her waist were. She then stuck her large butt out once again and shook it while she slid her hands over her two cheeks.

As she went to undo the black straps around her waist however, Austin stopped her.

"Leave those straps on, actually. They look quite sexy on you." he said.

"Kinky." Miranda smiled.

Liara then looked to Austin and motioned for him to stand up.

"Play with her ass for a bit. We gave her a show, now I want to enjoy one." she said.

"I think she's waited long enough." said Austin.

Miranda simply moaned as Austin started planting kisses on her behind. Liara meanwhile stood up and sat on the nearby console in front of the drive core. She then started rubbing her Azure furiously so that Miranda had something to look at. After a few seconds, Austin decided that to take this even further. He took both edges of the material covering Miranda's ass and slowly ripped it. Miranda moaned in delight as she felt the material rip, revealing her gorgeously large ass, black panties and already dripping pussy to Austin. At the same time, Miranda could feel the heat from Austin's cock since it was poking at her ass slightly due to its erectness.

If the Helldiver didn't know that Liara had an even better body that this, he'd say that Miranda had the body of a goddess. Of course, Liara had beaten the Ex-Cerberus operative to it, hence why Austin often called her Blue Goddess much to her delight.

Liara meanwhile had increased the rubbing of her dripping Azure as she watched this incredibly sexy sight. Because this was just a dream, she could just relax and enjoy it. She didn't need to worry about having to compete with Miranda or anything like that. It made no sense to try and compete with a dream after all.

Austin moved Miranda's black panties aside and gave her pussy a few good long licks, causing her to moan in delight.

"Shepard, please! I want you inside me!" she practically begged.

"Shall I?" Austin asked in a teasing manner as he turned to Liara.

"Beg some more!" Liara smiled evilly as she continued rubbing.

"PLEASE! I NEED YOU BIG COCK INSIDE ME, SHEPARD! PLEASE, FUCK ME!" Miranda almost yelled.

"That'll do." Liara shrugged.

Austin nodded and lined his member up with Miranda's core. Miranda gasped in pleasure as the Helldiver slowly thrust his cock inside her waiting hole.

"AAHHH" Both moaned loudly as Austin plunged his cock deep into her depths, Miranda's insides immediately squeezing his shaft along the entire length invoking another cry of pleasure from both.

Liara increased the speed of her rubbing, which Miranda stared at. This only made her moan even more and also made her even wetter which allowed Austin's thrust to be even smoother thanks to the added lubrication.

Liara was enjoying this more than she thought she would. Seeing Austin fuck another woman was actually quite an arousing sight. She of course knew that he only ever had eyes for her and that this was just for fun, so she didn't need to worry about losing him either. This was better she could ever imagine, a pleasure so intense, something she never experienced when pleasuring herself on his cock. Everything was so enthralling, the sounds, the smell, his sweat, his moans. His large warm meat feeling up every spot of Miranda's insides, pushing against her cervix as he thrust into her from behind.

Austin began doubling the speeds of his thrusts, Miranda's moaning spurring him on. A few times in between thrusts, he pulled out so that he could rub the head of his cock between her two ass cheeks.

Both the thrusting and the rubbing increased as the engine room was filled with nothing but the sounds of loud moans and the wet slapping of flesh on flesh.

Miranda was nearing her peak. She could already feel her orgasm approaching with the constant hard thrusts. Within seconds, it reached beyond her control and she couldn't hold it back any longer. Miranda came.

"OH FUUUUCK!"

Austin couldn't help but smile as he felt Miranda's pussy clamp down on his cock and also get sprayed with her love juices.

"Wow, you were good." Miranda panted as she went to kiss Austin, but Liara stopped her.

"Oh no you don't. No one kisses him but me." said the Asari.

Miranda moaned as she turned round and looked down at Austin's throbbing member which she wrapped one of her hands around. Liara meanwhile had a nice view of Miranda's core.

"My, that looks so inviting." said Liara as she licked her lips.

"This your first time with a woman?" Miranda asked.

"You could say that." said Liara. "I want to try something."

"This ought to be good." Austin smiled.

"Bend over, bitch!" Liara ordered as she pushed Miranda up against the rail and forced her down.

"No please! Not in my ass…" Miranda begged as Liara lined her tongue up with Miranda's puckered hole. Without even paying any attention the Ex-Cerberus' begging, she forced herself in, hard. Miranda screamed almost instantly.

"Oh God!"

"Is there anything Alaara hasn't taught you? You have no idea how many times I've caught her doing that with Sandra." said Austin.

"Oh I'm sure there are some things she's saving just for herself and Sandra. There's a bit of a saying among my people. "The older they are, the more unpredictable they'll be." said Liara.

"In that case, carry on and have fun. Don't mind me. I'll just enjoy the show." said Austin.

"Touch yourself while you're at it, Austin. I want to see you touching yourself." Liara smiled.

"With pleasure!"

Austin reached down and started stroking his member. Liara meanwhile turned back to Miranda and continued thrusting her tongue in and out. At the same time, she ripped the rest of Miranda's outfit away, only her black straps left. Miranda's moaned filled both lovers' ears for several minutes. Liara kept up her pace before turning her gaze toward Shepard's tool. His hand was wrapped around the long rock-hard pole stroking up and down. The tip glistened with pre-cum.

"My turn." She said, turned on by the sight.

Austin didn't need to be told twice as Liara settled herself above him and he took his member in his hand and slowly helped guide it in.

Now it was Miranda's turn to touch herself while watching the sex.

"Oh God! You're so much tighter than she is." Austin groaned as Liara's Azure engulfed his member.

"Real life is better than a dream, my love." Liara moaned as Austin thrust upward into her and she bounced on him, his hands holding her up by the thighs. "Oh Goddess, you're so big!"

Miranda sighed and moaned as she masturbated in front of this couple fucking one another. The sight of Liara's big bouncing breasts and exotic moans only made her even wetter.

Austin kept slamming his cock inside Liara, the soft flesh of her ass rippling with every impact.

"Ahhn.. MMm… yes…. cumming… aahhh Goddess…."

Austin didn't imagine she could squeeze his rod even harder, her pussy giving him an incredible amount of pleasure with each thrust. Austin moaned louder and louder as Liara's tight love canal brought him pleasure with each thrust.

Miranda reached her other hand up and used it to squeeze one of her massive tits as she continued fingering herself furiously while watching this incredible sex.

Liara was screaming again as she finally launched into her first orgasm. Her knees buckled as the orgasm ravaged her already weakening body. Austin held her body upright as she got weaker and weaker, her orgasm flowing as she kept being pounded by Austin.

"By the Goddess, that was incredible." Liara panted as she slid off. In all the excitement, she'd nearly forgotten that Miranda was laying on the floor right in front of her and fingering herself.

Liara suddenly yelped as she felt her already pounded and wet Azure being licked. She looked down to see that Miranda was now eating her out.

There was a cunt in front of Miranda, and she was attacking it. Her mouth was latched onto the dark blue Azure belonging to Liara.

Austin meanwhile, seeing his girlfriend getting eaten out, slowly got up and got behind Miranda. He knelt down and once again thrust into Miranda's pussy, his cock already nice and wet thanks to both women.

"Come on, Miranda! Eat her! Let her have it!" he said as he gave Miranda's bubble but a hard slap which earned an approving moan from the Ex-Cerberus operative.

Liara then flipped herself around so that she was now in a 69 with Miranda and she was also now gazing at her bond mate's massive cock sliding in and out of Miranda. While the Asari worked on licking Miranda while also watching her get pounded by Austin, Miranda herself inserted two of her fingers into Liara's Azure and started thrusting which made Liara moan and hum into her pussy.

Austin slowly pulled out again, setting a very slow rhythm. Liara watched in amazement as his member was exposed to the air again wet with Miranda's nectar. Austin almost pulled out before slowly pushing back in. Miranda moaned softly as the thick member went back in.

"Goddess… It looks so beautiful."

Austin smiled as Liara spoke up surprised at her comment. He wanted this but didn't expect her to be to open to this.

With Liara's consent in hand he pulled back again, now ramming hard inside Miranda.

"AAAHH!"

The head nudged Miranda's cervix sending a powerful spike through her body. Her hand jerked with the jolt of pleasure. With her fingers still inside Liara. The young asari moaned in response as Miranda's fingers twisted inside her.

"I'm gonna cum!" Miranda moaned as the combination of Austin thrusting and Liara's fingering drove her over the edge.

"OH FUCK!"

Liara latched onto Miranda's clit as the Ex-Cerberus operative came. Even for a dream, she tasted very nice.

"What now?" Austin asked as he slid out.

"Ram it down her throat! Let's see if she can swallow it." Liara smiled evilly.

"I like that you're being so dominant over her. It's good." Austin smiled as his girlfriend picked Miranda up and lined her mouth up with his cock.

"Please, it's too big. I can't take it." Miranda begged as Austin grabbed her head and forced himself inside her mouth.

"Don't be shy, Lawson. Be a good girl and take in more." Said Liara as she groped Miranda's rack from behind.

"Ahh… your mouth is so tight, Miranda." Austin groaned as Miranda did her best to deep throat his massive meat.

"How does it feel, Lawson? Is it too big for your big mouth?" Liara taunted.

"Nggh! Liara, put her hands behind her back. She's trying to push it out." Said Austin.

Sure enough, Miranda was trying to use both her hands to push herself away from Austin in a vague attempt to stop herself from gagging on his cock.

"But of course, my love. We wouldn't want that to happen." Liara smiled evilly.

Before Miranda could react in time, Liara grabbed both her hands and forced them behind her back, keeping them in place with biotics.

"There you go. Now start facefucking her." Said the Asari. "If she can't do it, I'll show her how a professional does it."

Austin continued pushing as much as he could. Despite that she was being forced to do this, there was a part of Miranda that was secretly enjoying this. Even now, she could feel a large lump forming on her throat where the Helldiver's massive dick was going down her throat.

"Wow! It's so big I can see your cock moving right down her throat. Can't believe you're able to push it that deep." Liara moaned her approval.

"I'm still not there yet. She's still not at the base yet." Austin grinned.

"Your pussy is so wet, Miranda. Let me help you cum." Said Liara as she reached down and started fingering Miranda's wet pussy.

After a few more pushes, Miranda finally felt that she just couldn't take any more. Any further and she'd stop breathing.

"Aw. Is that it?" Austin asked as he noticed that he still had an inch or two left out of Miranda's mouth.

"I knew she couldn't take it all. So much for being perfect." Said Liara.

"You ready for your turn?" Austin asked as he very slowly, and at a rather torturing pace, pulled his cock out of Miranda's mouth.

"Let her cum at least. She deserves that much." Said Liara as she kept rubbing Miranda's pussy, her orgasm very close. "You are so wet, you must be having a great time."

Miranda very nearly passed out as the combination of her impending orgasm and Austin massive cock in her throat made her vision blur. Just before she blacked out however, Austin finally slid out. The Ex-Cerberus operative finally felt the oxygen return to her system. As she did however, she then found her orgasm let loose.

"What a dirty girl you are! Keep cumming for me!" said Liara as she kept fingering and felt her fingers get even wetter.

"Right, your turn." Said Austin.

Liara nodded and assumed the same position that Miranda just had.

"Right, watch and learn, Lawson. In fact, I might as well show you just how good I really am." She said.

The Asari then took her bond mate's cock in her hand and activated her biotics. Within just a few seconds, Austin's size was now 12 inches and he was even thicker than before.

"No way is that going to fit all the way! You'll kill yourself!" said Miranda in amazement.

"I will show you how it's done, Miranda. Austin, try not to cum while I'm doing this." said Liara.

"I'll do my best, love." Said Austin.

Liara wrapped her blue lips around the member and slowly began taking it deeper and deeper, her jaw being stretched to its absolute limit.

"Oh my god, this feels so good!" Austin moaned. "Come on, take it deeper!"

"Yeah! You said you could take it all!" Mirada taunted.

Liara seemed to ignore Miranda and she instead used Austin's comment to spur her on. Inch my inch, the massive dick went into her mouth and down her throat. The Asari made that she breathed nice and easy and remained calm so that she didn't accidentally choke or gag on it. Even she had to admit this might be a bit much. She'd deep throated her lover many times, but never when he'd been this big. She'd usually just kept it in her mouth and not tried to swallow it. So far though, things were going well and she was already up to where Miranda had managed before stopping, and she still had a bit more room.

"Come on, Liara. You're nearly there!" said Austin as he put his hands on Liara's head and gave her an extra push.

That seemed to do the trick and Liara finally felt herself touch the base. She'd done it.

"My god, you actually did it." Said Miranda in amazement.

"Doch be so ahamed Mirrana, we Ahari are aways beher!" Liara managed to say, her voice muffled by her boyfriend's cock in her mouth.

"Don't mean to cut this short, but I haven't got long before I cum. We'll need to wrap this up soon." Said Austin.

"Then at least fuck me in the ass. I definitely want that at least." Said Liara.

"With pleasure." Said Austin as Liara got into position and he lined himself up. Miranda, you know what to do."

Miranda simply nodded and got under Austin. While he slowly slid his cock in, she tended to his balls, taking each one in her mouth at a time.

"Oh Goddess!" Liara moaned as she felt Austin's massive meat plough right into her ass.

"Does it hurt, Liara?"

Liara gasped for air as Austin pushed his cock in all the way. Their bodies touching another.

"Aahh… A little… My ass… so full. So… Aahnn… good."

Several long minutes passed as Austin thrust in and out, Liara played with her Azure and Miranda played with Austin's testicles. After several thrusts, Austin knew he was beyond stopping. He was gonna cum any second now.

"I'm close! I'm gonna cum!"

"Pull out then. I've got an idea." Liara panted.

Austin nodded and slid out.

"I can't believe his whole thing went in there." said Miranda as she gave Austin's cock a small lick.

"It can do more than that." Liara smiled. She then turned back to Austin. "Stand against the rail. Miranda, do as I do."

Austin did as he was told and then he found both girls attacking his dick. He smiled as they both licked and pleasured him. Having Liara pleasure him like this was more than perfect, but Miranda as well? This was heaven.

Miranda mostly focused on his balls again while Liara sucked hard on his mushroom head and also deep throating him again. Liara then got a bit bolder.

 _"I wonder how she'll react to me enlarging my breasts as well."_ she thought.

Liara took both her breasts in each hand and closed her eyes in concentration.

"What are you doing?" Miranda asked.

She quickly got an answer though as Liara's hands glowed brightly and her tits grew even more.

"What?! Oh, that is not fair!" she said, somewhat jealous that Liara's bust was now twice as big as hers.

"I love it when you do that, love." Austin smiled as he watched his girlfriend's tits heave with each breath.

"You love it when I do this as well." Liara smiled as she wrapped both her breasts around his dick and started thrusting. Miranda meanwhile put her jealousy aside and resorted to doing what Liara had been doing earlier and sucked on the head.

Austin threw his head back in pleasure at the experiences he was having. This was just perfect. If only it where completely real. The thrusts from Liara's tits coupled with Miranda's sucking didn't' take long to bring Austin to his orgasm at long last.

"Oh god! I'm gonna cum!" Austin moaned.

"Cum for us, Austin!"

Austin let loose and he watched as several large spurts shot out. Some landed on Liara, the other landed on Miranda. Within just a few seconds, both their faces and even their tits where now very white and dripping.

"What a load. Besides, what could be better to finish this little show than with fireworks?" Liara smiled as she and Miranda set on work on cleaning each other's faces.

Just the sight of that though made Austin shoot into another orgasm. Before he came however, he tried something new.

He grabbed Miranda's face and shoved his cock all the way down as much as he could. As he came, the Ex-Cerberus operative tried desperately to push him off but the cum flooded her throat so much that her struggles where short lived. She went limp very quickly.

"Hmm, so that's what happens. Well at least I know now not to try that with you." Said Austin as he gently pushed the now limp Miranda off him. Liara's closer inspections showed that she was still breathing, just passed out and breathing very gently.

"Your right. That' wouldn't be a bad way to go, but still…" Liara nodded.

"Think it's time we woke up now, love."

* * *

Both Austin and Liara opened their eyes. They didn't feel exhausted at all considering that they just been in an epic threesome for a long time.

"Wow. What a dream." Austin sighed as Liara snuggled up to him.

"I know. That was also my first time with a woman. I'm glad I joined in." she smiled.

"As am I."

"Now I simply need to tell Miranda that you're... what's the phrase? Taken?"

"Indee..." Austin said, but a yawn interrupted him. He might not feel exhausted, but he certainly felt tired still.

"Go back to sleep, love." Said Liara calmly.

"I love you."

"I love you not because I need you, I need you because I love you."

Austin simply smiled as he drifted back off to sleep.

Liara meanwhile got up and stretched for a bit. Reaching for a robe, she walked towards the elevator. True to what she'd said earlier, she needed to sort something out once and for all with Miranda.

* * *

Liara found that Miranda's quarters weren't locked. As the doors opened she saw the Ex-Cerberus operative asleep in her bed and moaning a lot in her sleep. Liara didn't' even need to read her mind to know she was probably dreaming about Austin. She was even moaning his name.

The Asari walked right up to the foot of Miranda's bed and cleared her throat very loudly. Miranda stirred and very slowly opened her eyes.

"Mmmm, Shepard?" she yawned as she let the covers slip, revealing her black bra holding her tits.

"No. It's me." Said Liara.

Miranda quickly reacted to this and covered herself with the covers.

"What the hell are you doing in here?!" she shouted.

"I've come to tell you to leave Shepard alone." Liara simply replied in a very serious manner. Usually, she didn't act this coldly, but she needed Miranda to take her seriously.

"I'm allowed to be attract to him if I want! Who are you to say that?!" Miranda retorted.

"I'm his bond mate! He's taken." Said Liara.

She walked right up to Miranda and seized her by the neck. This new found aggressiveness seemed to frighten Miranda a bit.

"Bond mate? You two are… together?" she said, very surprised.

"Yes. And I will not have you try to intrude. I'm not possessive, but he and I know about you trying to get his attention, and we're not having it! You've no right to try and flirt with him when you know we're in a relationship!" Liara almost shouted.

"I… I didn't know you where… please, I'm sorry. I thought you were just friends." said Miranda apologetically.

"Just friends? Just friends?! You where the one I delivered his body to. Surely you must've known why Feron and I went through all that mess with the Shadow Broker to get it?! Why he got captured?!"

"I thought you were just friends. I had no idea you two where lovers. It makes sense now." Said Miranda.

Despite this though, Liara still glared at her.

"Well now you do know. So I'll make this very simple. You stay away from Austin, or I flay you alive… with my mind." She said.

"O… of course. I'm sorry. If I'd known he was taken, I wouldn't' have…" Miranda tried to say.

"Glad we understand one another. Good night, Miranda." Said Liara.

The Asari turned to leave. Just as she reached the door, Miranda called her.

"Liara, he's very lucky to have someone like you. Not many would got through what you did to bring a lover back to life. You may not believe me, but I'm happy for you." She said, trying to smile.

"I'm sure there'll be someone for you as well." Said Liara, her mood brightening a bit. "Sorry if I scared you. I sometimes get a bit defensive when it comes to Austin. I lost him once, and I'm not letting it happen again."

"I know. I feel the same way when it comes to my sister. She's all I have left." Said Miranda sympathetically.

"Good night, Miranda." Said Liara, this time more friendly.

"Good night… Liara."

* * *

Jacob simply sat as his own desk in silence. Although he'd dealt with what happened on Aeia, it was still bothering him a bit.

His contemplation was then suddenly interrupted by a soothing female voice behind him.

"Still up at this hour?"

Jacob turned to see Kasumi standing against the wall by the door.

"I hadn't realized what the time was." Jacob sighed.

Kasumi walked up to him and sat on the desk in front of him.

"Jacob, I... I wish there was something I could say. I'm sorry about your father." She said sympathetically.

"It's okay. I've had more than ten years to get over it. I'll be fine. I appreciate your concern though." Said Jacob.

"You're sure you don't want to talk about it? I've had to go through something very similar." Kasumi asked.

"I'm fine. Honestly. But I appreciate your concern." Jacob smiled.

"He was your father. It has to be bothering you. I want to help." Said Kasumi.

"If I needed help, I'd let you know. Like I said, I've had a long time to deal with that man's death. I was just ahead of schedule." Said Jacob. He bowed his head for a moment, but then returned to normal and looked back at the thief sitting in front of him.

"So, no other family?" Kasumi asked.

"Afraid not. And I don't count my father at all after what he did. I'm an only child, and no extended family." Jacob replied.

"No Mrs Taylor waiting for you?" Kasumi asked eagerly.

"Where are you going with this, Kasumi?" Jacob asked hesitantly.

"Just making sure I won't get my ass shot off if I make a move on you." Kasumi smiled.

Jacob now suddenly realized where Kasumi was going with this.

"Well… I wasn't expecting that, Kasumi. I haven't looked at you that way." He said, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice.

"Oh, but I have." Kasumi said cheekily.

"I mean, I've looked, sure, but not seriously. An option, just not one I'd take. Okay, now I sound like an idiot, what I mean is -"

"Shhh."

Jacob felt two of Kasumi's fingers pressed to his lips.

"It's okay. I'm sorry if I make you nervous. I just wanted you to know how I feel." She said.

The Thief went to get off the desk, but Jacob quickly grabbed her arm gently.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Kasumi. I… I like you, a lot. I just hadn't thought about it that way before." He said. "Until now that is. I can't deny I've always found you attractive, and I am curious to see what you might be hiding under that hood.

Kasumi smiled at that. That comment seemed to make her even more interested.

"You know what, Jacob?" I think we need each other. I know I need you." She said as she took one of Jacob's hands in her own.

"Okay, you want to know something that gets to me? You. That enough?" Jacob smiled as he did the same and took Kasumi's other hand in his. "You're very good at what you do, Kasumi. When this mess is over, you and I need some time."

"It's alright, Jacob. I'm here for you." Said Kasumi.

The two simply remained quiet for a while as their faces slowly drew together. Within just a few seconds, they sealed their lips with a tender kiss.

* * *

**Definitely give Mastermind4892 credit for the Jacob/Kasumi scene. That was his idea. I'd already planned for the two to be together, but he suggested the idea of this scene to me. So thank you again for that, mate. It's actually a shame Bioware never pursued that, they make a good couple.**

**Anyway, next one will be Jack's. I promise that one will be better than this. That one is more fun and I've also got some good new dialogue planned for that. After that, a long awaited one... Project Overlord.**

**As a little tease, Overlord will have a cameo appearance from a character that some of you fans have been missing. I guarantee you will be surprised and thrilled by it.**

**We've still got Tali's, but that'll be after the Derelict Reaper since I want Legion along for that one.**

**See you soon!**


	32. Chapter 32, Jack's Past

**I'm quite surprised I got this done so quickly. Still, at least now I can fully focus on doing Overlord.**

**Basically what's in this chapter, Jack's mission (with one or two changes I added just for a bit of fun) another romance couple and have even done a little tribute to Zaeed's voice actor Robin Sachs who died recently. At least he did finish voicing Zaeed for the upcoming Citadel DLC before he died.**

**Enjoy.**

**Also, a few people have been saying that they think that Sarah (Shepard's sister) is going to be paired with Garrus. I'm setting the record straight right now and teLling you that that is incorrect. Garrus will be paired with Tali in ME3. I have no problem with FemShep/Garrus, but it just seems like that relationship is bit too popular nowadays and I often see far too many fics on it compared to other ones like MShep/Liara. I promise you though, Sarah's relationship will be with a well liked character. One of my fans (you know who you are) is even incredibly eager to for it. (I told him so that I could get early feedback)**

* * *

**Chapter 32**

**Jack's Past**

Since her little talk with Liara, Miranda had kept her promise and had ceased trying to get Austin's attention. Austin knew he shouldn't think like this, but he'd now made a small bet in his mind. Who would ask for his help next? Jack or Tali?

Jack certainly seemed more likely due to her… troubled past, and Tali was usually the sort of person who remained very focused.

As Austin exited the elevator, Kelly instantly turned to face him. She didn't even wait for Austin to say good morning to her. There was a worried look on her face.

"Shepard, I'm glad you came by." She said very quickly.

"Woah! Slow down, Kelly. Is something the matter?" Austin asked, nearly backing away by the Yeoman's sudden worried tone.

"It's Jack. She's been acting stressed all morning." Kelly replied as she tried to calm down a bit.

"Have you tried talking to her?" Austin asked.

"I wouldn't be this worried if I hadn't. I know it's a long shot, but is there a chance you can talk to her?" Kelly asked, almost pleading.

"I'll see what I can do." Austin replied as he put his hand on Kelly's shoulder reassuringly.

"Thank you, Shepard. I'm not sure what else to do." Kelly smiled.

* * *

Austin found Jack in her usual spot. True to Kelly's words, she had a somewhat stressed look on her face.

"Hey, Shepard." She said.

"You alright, Jack? Kelly tells me you've been a bit stressed all morning." Austin asked.

"Yeah. I got thoughts like little bugs crawling in and out of my head. I can't stop them." Said Jack.

The biotic convict then stood up and went over to the stairs. She then sat down on one of them. She did a look like she was struggling to think of what she needed to say to Austin.

"You know I have a history with Cerberus. You know how far back it goes?" she asked.

"Your whole life." Austin replied. "Jack, I'll listen to anything you have to say. Tell me what's bothering you."

"Cerberus raised me. First thing I remember is my cell door in a Cerberus base. They did experiments. Drugged me. Tortured me. Whatever chance I had to be normal, they stole it by trying to turn me into some super-biotic. The doctors… the other kids… Every one of them hated me. They let me suffer." Said Jack.

"What did they hope to gain by torturing a little girl? It's barbaric." Said Austin.

"That's putting it lightly, Shepard. It was something about pain breaking down mental barriers, and hot it might clear the way for a more biotic power. I'm sure there was a payoff due at some point, but I wasn't going to see it. I was wired up in a cell." Said Jack.

"They tortured you just to see if they could make a strong biotic? That's it?" Austin asked, almost in disbelief. He knew what Cerberus was like, but he never expected they could be this inhumane.

"Wasn't in a position to ask, Shepard. All I know is, a little girl crying in a cell, begging for the pain to stop…" said Jack.

"How did you get out of there?" Austin asked.

"There was some kind of emergency and I made a break it. The other kids came out of their cells and attacked me. So did the guards. I just killed everything in my way and ran. Guess my biotics had developed faster than they thought. I managed to get a shuttle off the ground. Drifted until a freighter picked me up. The crew used me, then sold me. That's my uplifting escape story." Jack explained.

"So there were other children in the base?" Austin asked.

"I didn't know much about them. I was kept separate. They hated me, just like everyone else there. When I broke out, I had to fight through them all. I showed them, but there's a loose end I need to deal with." Said Jack.

"You're sure it was Cerberus? It's not that I'm trying to defend Cerberus, in fact I hope it was them so that we can give 'em hell." Said Austin enthusiastically.

"You and me both. Trust me, I know it was them. I was a kid, but I wasn't dumb. I know how to listen. It was Cerberus. Don't care how far down the chain it was. They thought they were so clever. Turns out, mess with someone's head enough and you can turn a scared kid into an all-powerful bitch. Fucking idiots." Said Jack, her mood di brighten a bit knowing that Austin thought the same as her about Cerberus.

"I know what you mean. I myself have seen some of the things Cerberus has done. If we… no, when we eventually find the Illusive Man himself, he's not even gonna get the mercy of being put on trial. He'll die on the spot with my sword through his heart before that happens, provided he has a heart to stab." Said Austin.

"Hope I get to see that when it happens. But that's not what I'm after anyway. I found the coordinates in your Helldiver's Cerberus files. I want to go to the Teltan facility on Pragia, where they tortured and drugged me. I want to go the centre of the place, my cell. I wanna deploy a big fucking bomb. And I want to watch from orbit when it goes." Said Jack, almost order like.

"I'm surprised you're not a Helldiver with an attitude like that. We're not busy right now, so we can do this right now if you want." Austin offered.

"The sooner the better." Jack replied.

"Then you'd better get ready. We've got a facility to destroy."

"I owe you, Shepard." Said Jack gratefully. "And tell Kelly I said thanks for sending you to talk to me."

"How did you…"

"I'm smart. I know she cares about me. Not that I mind of course."

* * *

The shuttle ride was mostly silent. Partly because there wasn't a lot to talk about, but mostly because the two squad mates that Austin had chosen to take for mission where Miranda and Urz. Jack of course despised Miranda to the core, regardless of whether she was with Cerberus or not. Urz on the other hand, Jack had a bit of respect for but he of course didn't talk and was a quiet Varren, only barking during a fight or when he was extremely excited.

"I forgot how much I hate this place. See the landing pad? Has to be on the roof, or the vegetation would overgrow it in a few hours." Jack finally spoke up as the dropship neared the landing zone.

" _Shepard, I am picking up thermal signatures everywhere, except at your landing zone."_ Said EDI.

"Something's distorting the sensors." Austin commented.

"This was a secret Cerberus facility." Said Miranda.

"Yeah, they build their equipment to last. Assholes! It was a mistake coming back here, Shepard." Said Jack.

"Hey, you where the one that wanted us to come here. Get a hold of yourself. It'll be okay." Said Austin.

"I'm fine. Okay. Let's get on the ground." Said Jack.

The dropship doors opened, instantly allowing the rain from outside to flow in. Austin of course, being protected by his exosuit was bothered by the cold rain at all and it simply dipped and ran off the edges of its metal skin. Urz, being a Varren, wasn't that bother by the rain either, especially since he was also wearing armour. Jack seemed to mostly ignore it, despite her lack of much clothing. Miranda did seem a bit irritated by getting wet, but she did her best not to show it.

"Let's just get in there and plant the bomb in my cell. I want to watch this place burn." Said Jack.

Although the place was abandoned, they still had their weapons drawn just in case. It was easily possible they might encounter some wild creatures. A few wild Varren where definitely likely to be in here trying to perhaps scavenge some food or anything from the wreckage.

They first entered a large room of some kind. It was filled with a number of large crates.

"I never saw this room. I think they brought new kids in these containers. They were messed up and starving, but alive. Usually." Said Jack.

Austin couldn't help but think what this place might have been like in its prime. Seeing it in this destroyed state and with a lot of the vegetation having overgrown in it just kept making him think that.

Eventually, they found what looked like an old message recording of some kind. There was one person actually doing the log and the voice of someone off-screen could also be heard.

" _The Illusive Man requested operation logs again. He's getting suspicious."_ It said.

" _When we get results, he won't care what he did. But if he knew…"_ said the other voice.

The message seemed to deactivate itself automatically.

"It sounds like this facility went rouge." Said Miranda.

"You'd like to think that wouldn't you? He didn't say what they were hiding from the Illusive Man." Said Jack.

The next room was a lot bigger. It looked like what was left of a loading area.

"I remember escaping to this room. Fighting here. I saw sunlight through the cracks in the ceiling. Only a half-dead guard between me and freedom. He was begging for his life." Said Jack.

At that moment, Urz started sniffing the air. From the Varren's body language, Austin could tell that Urz sensed something.

"Stay alert. I don't think we're alone in here." He said cautiously.

Sure enough, as they rounded a corner they found several wild Varren. They'd obviously caught their scent too and they looked ready for a fight. The group however where quick to deal with them though. Urz in particular managed to take down three Varren on his own, the special armour providing him protection form their fangs.

"This looks like what's left of an arena." Said Austin as he observed some of the wrecked area that had several small walls arranged in circle. A few where toppled over and some weren't' arranged right. There were also one or two blood stains on the floor.

"That's right. They used to stage fights here. Pit me against other kids. I loved it. Only time I was ever out of my cell." Said Jack.

"What exactly where they studying?" Austin asked.

"Hell if I know. Maybe that's how they got their kicks. I never understood anything that happened here."

"How often did they do this?"

"I was in a cell my whole life. Sometimes they took me out and made me fight. Filled me with drugs. Other stuff. Time gets funny in a cell."

"Did other children die in these fights?"

"I was a kid, filled with drugs. I got shocked when I hesitated. Narcotics flooded my veins when I attacked."

"They actually rewarded you for attacking?"

"I still get a warm feeling during a fight."

"What the hell was wrong with those people?!"

"I don't know. Doesn't matter now."

"Got anything to say about that, Miranda?!" Austin asked in Miranda's direction.

Miranda was a bit lost for words and didn't say anything.

"Didn't think so." Said Jack.

"Let's keep moving."

They continued through several more long corridors. Austin could tell that Jack seemed a bit unsettled in this place. Not that he blamed her of course, this was where she'd grown up and lived hell. As if he didn't have enough reason to hate Cerberus already.

Eventually, they came across another holographic interface that had a log in it. Jack nodded and Austin accessed it.

This one had the security officer from the last one it.

" _Security Officer Zemkl, Teltin facility. We've come under attack from a Helldiver squad! The subjects are out of their cells! They're tearing the place up! Subject Zero is going to get loose. I need permission to terminate – I repeat, permission to terminate! All subjects besides Zero are expendable. Keep Jack alive!"_ he said urgently. There was a brief pause as he heard the response in his earpiece. " _Understood. I'll begin the -"_

He was interrupted however when a Helldiver soldier suddenly appeared behind him. The Helldiver smashed his head on the console and threw him to the floor.

" _Don't move!"_ he ordered as he had his gun trained on the officer. _"Area secure."_

Jack had heard enough and switched the hologram off.

"That's not right. I broke out when my guards disappeared – I started that riot." She said.

"Things might have happened that you didn't see. Besides, I've been detecting some rare chemical residues in certain areas. Those are the same residues found in the remains of a dead Helldiver when their suit vaporises itself. The Helldiver part certainly seems true." Said Austin.

"Perhaps. Could be I thought they were mechs. But still, the other kids attacked me. The guards attacked me. The automated systems attacked me. That doesn't leave lots of room for interpretation." Said Jack.

They proceeded a bit further into the facility. As they went down some stairs however, they found something rather unexpected. Two dead Varren. They'd just been killed very recently, and with bullet wounds.

"This place is supposed to be empty. Who the fuck shot that Varren? It's a fresh kill." Said Jack.

At that moment, Urz suddenly started growling fiercely.

"What is it, boy?" Austin asked cautiously.

"More Varren?" Miranda asked.

"I don't think so. Urz tends not to bark or growl at other Varren. When he does…" said Austin. "I don't think we're the only ones here.

Urz didn't bark but kept growling. Austin allowed him to slowly lead the way. They soon got an answer to who and what the Varren had been growling at earlier. There was a large red Krogan and several Vorcha in the next room.

"Blood Pack! I should've known." Austin hissed.

"What the fuck are they doing here?!" said Jack, also keeping her voice down.

"I don't know. Regardless though, I don't think either of us wants to sneak past them." said Austin.

"I was actually thinking the same thing." Miranda agreed also.

"Okay, here's what we'll do..." said Austin.

Before the Helldiver could continue anymore however, Jack instantly leapt over the edge, her biotics flared and the whole place practically turned into a war zone as she engaged the mercs.

"Or we can go with Jack's approach." Austin sighed.

He and Miranda popped out of cover and joined the fight. Urz did the same and leapt onto a nearby Vorcha, sinking his fangs right into flesh.

Jack had quickly dealt with the rest of the Vorcha so that left just the Krogan, who was proving very difficult for Austin and Miranda to take down. Even with all their firepower and all the biotics, Krogan always took so much to take down. Eventually though, Miranda and Jack managed to both fling a throw attack so powerful that it tossed the Krogan high into the air. Austin was unable to resist some target practice. Setting his shoulder cannon to automatic, it immediately locked onto the falling Krogan. The familiar red targeting laser appeared, a blue plasma shot was fired and the falling body was vaporised.

"Jack, next time please check with me before you rush into a fight. I can't have you disobeying orders and starting unwanted conflicts." said Austin.

"Under the circumstances, it's okay to just attack mercs. You can't complain about that." said Jack.

"True."

They continued further and further into the facility. The further they got, the more wreckage there was. Jack certainly had made a mess of the place all those years ago.

"So strange to be back here. I feel like… I'm pissed off. I'm a dangerous bitch. But then I'm a little girl again. Shit, it's complicated. Let's just go plant that bomb." Said Jack.

The next room had some more wild Varren in it, but it was nothing to difficult. Further into the room showed that it was in fact a long corridor filled with doors, each one leading into a small isolated cell. All the other test subjects had clearly been in here.

"They kept children in this place?" Miranda asked in shock.

"This sort of thing surprises you?!" Jack retorted.

"I…

"Knock it off, you two!" said Austin sternly.

After a while, the group found themselves outside again. It had stopped raining now, and the night seemed peaceful. They were on some sort of balcony over a small garden. There could be what looked like a large window of sorts at one end.

"This… It's a two-way mirror? My cell is on the other side – I could see all the other kids out here. I screamed at them for hours, and they always ignored me." Said Jack.

The next room looked the same as the one they first been in when they came in, but this time it looked more like a torture chamber and it had no containers.

"I must have come through here when I broke out, but I don't remember it. This is a bad place." She said.

There were two holographic interfaces in the room. Austin guessed these where more log updates. The first one showed a scientist of sorts.

" _Entry 1054, Teltin facility. The latest iteration of PergNim went poorly. Subjects One, Four, and Six died. No biotic change among the survivors. We lowered core temperatures of surviving subjects, but no biotically beneficial reaction occurred. As a side effect, all subjects died. So we'll not try that on Zero. I hope our supply of biotic-potential subjects holds up. We are going through them fast."_ It said.

"This is bullshit! They weren't experimenting on the other children for my safety!" said Jack as the log ended.

"You can't help what they did to others." Said Austin.

"You don't get it, Shepard. I survived this place because I was tougher than the rest. That's who I am." Said Jack.

"You move on, harder and tougher."

On the other side of the room was another holographic log. The log had had the same scientist from the last time. This time though there was urgency in his voice and explosions could be heard in the background.

" _It's all fallen to pieces. A Helldiver squad's attacked the facility. The subjects are rampaging, and Zero is loose. We're shutting Teltin down. What a disaster. We'll infiltrate and piggyback onto the Alliance's Ascension program. Hopefully that will—who are…? Zero, wait!"_

"Shepard, they started up somewhere else." Said Jack.

"Ascension is an Alliance program. It's a school for biotic kids. They don't torture children there." Said Austin.

"A lot of this… isn't the way I remember it." Said Jack.

"There was a lot going on."

"I was dumb. I keep my eyes open now, and I always shoot first. We're getting close to my cell. The place I came from. Let's keep going."

After going through another corridor, they were close to Jack's cell now. Right as they stepped into the next room however, they were met with a somewhat unwelcome sight. They were in the largest room yet, a massive loading bay, or what was left of it. In the room where more Vorcha, two more blood Pack Krogan and another Krogan dressed in more advanced armour. He noticed the group and spoke into his earpiece.

"Hey Aresh, it's Kureck. Yeah, the intruders are here. You want them dead, we have to talk creds. You promised us lots of salvage, but this place is a waste." Said the leader. There was a brief pause as he heard the reply in his earpiece. "Fine – we'll put 'em down. Then I'm coming in there, and we're going to talk salvage."

"What are you doing here?" said Austin.

"First we're gonna kill you, then we'll see." Kureck replied.

Everyone immediately pulled out their guns and the place was filled with gunfire. The good thing though was that the room was nice and large and there where more than plenty of spots to go into cover.

Miranda stuck back and used her biotics for far attacks, Jack went right up close with her more powerful biotics and Austin went on the attack with his Revenant. He hardly needed to worry about shots hurting him. Even if his shields gave out, his armour could withstand 24 hours of gunfire and attackers where usually dead within the first second of those hours. Urz of course stayed at his master's heels and relied on his own armour to keep him safe from rounds. A few times though he'd attack an enemy that got too close and would immediately eat them. He didn't eat the Vorcha though, something about their blood or flesh didn't appeal to Varren. He got lucky however when one of the Krogan tried to melee Austin and he bit into its leg. If he'd been allowed to take the whole body back to the Normandy, he'd be feasting on it for weeks.

The battle intensified for several long moments before all opponents where finally dead. Jack finished Kureck by slamming him against the wall, then ceiling, then the floor and finally smashing his face in with a biotic punch. Violent, but against a Krogan, necessary.

"Only room left is my old cell. Whoever Aresh is, he's in there. I want to plant the bomb there, anyway. Might as well do it on his corpse." Said Jack.

Jack's cell certainly looked a mess. Nearly everything was smashed. There was an overturned desk and who knows what else.

They couldn't' see this Aresh person, but they knew he was in here. Urz was also sniffing, but the Varren didn't go looking until his master said so.

"Come out. We know you're here." Austin demanded. Nothing happened.

"Last chance…"

Still nothing.

"Okay, you asked for it. Urz, seek!"

Urz obeyed and started sniffing around. It only took the Varren a few seconds before he started barking at the wardrobe. Austin immediately forced it open and Urz dragged a man out of it. He kicked and struggled against the Varren's strong jaw grip.

"Get the hell off me you filthy creature!" he yelled.

Urz didn't take kindly to this, and threw him a few metres. Jack and Austin stood over him as he slowly got back up.

"Who are you?" Jack demanded.

"My name is Aresh, and you're breaking into my home. I know you, Subject Zero. So many years have passed, and I thought I was the only survivor." Aresh replied.

"My name is Jack! How the hell do you know me?" said Jack as she aimed her gun at Aresh.

"We all knew your face, Jack. They inflicted horrors on us so their experiments wouldn't kill you. You were the question, and I'm still looking for the answer." Aresh replied.

"Looks like you're not the only one pulled back here, Jack." Said Austin.

"I tried to forget this. But a place like this… it doesn't forget you. It follows you. I hired these mercs and came back almost a solar year ago. We're rebuilding it, piece by piece. I'm going to find out what they knew - how to unlock true biotic potential in humans. I'm restarting the Teltin facility. It will be beautiful." Said Aresh.

"I wanted a hole in the ground – he's trying to justify what happened by using it!" said Jack.

"You'd do the same thing to other children?! This was forced on you! You're no better than Cerberus!" said Austin angrily.

"Some were bought from poor families on Earth or kidnapped from colonies. Most ended up here the way I did: Batarian pirates. The Helldivers never stopped hunting Cerberus for that. They did such horrible things to us. They must have had good reasons." Said Aresh.

"There's no reason good enough! Are you nuts? You lived it!" said Jack angrily.

"This place was like a prison. How did you get out?" Austin asked.

"Your Helldivers eventually must've found where we'd been taken after the pirates sold us to Cerberus. Two Helldiver squads attacked the base, which provided a major distraction for the guards. We all attacked at once as they were taking us to the lab. The would've put us down, but then Jack got loose. When I came to, it was over – the guards, the scientists, and the kids were all dead. And you were gone. Only what was left of the Helldiver squads were still alive. They found me and took me back to civilization. They offered me a chance at being a Helldiver when I was old enough, but I turned it down. I wanted a more peaceful life." Aresh explained.

"I stopped it, all of it. Maybe the others did have it bad, but what you're doing is just as messed as them, maybe even more." Said Jack.

"Everything we went through must have been worth something!" Aresh retorted.

"We can blow up the place, but that still leaves him. What do we do with another you?" Austin asked.

"That's easy." Jack replied.

"Just leave me here. This is where I belong." Said Aresh.

"Fuck that." Said Jack as she threw a biotic warp at Aresh causing him to tumble.

"Jack, wait! He's trapped in his past. You need to move on from yours." Said Austin.

"He wants to restart this place. He needs to die!" said Jack.

"Look at him. He's crazy, and he's never going to restart this facility. My kin would sooner destroy it again anyway. You have to let it go. Killing him won't help you." Said Austin.

"It will help me!" Jack retorted.

"Your call then." Said Austin as he stood back a bit.

"What? You're supposed to be telling me to put the gun down! That's what you do!" Jack asked in surprise.

"I'm not your father, I'm your friend. Just be sure that this is really what you want." Said Austin.

"I… shit, is this right? Will killing him fix my head?" Jack asked.

"Only you can answer that, Jack. But remember, your past doesn't have to control you." Said Austin.

"You're right." Said Jack admittedly. "Get out of here. Go!"

Aresh didn't hesitate and ran. He narrowly managed to avoid Urz snap his jaws at him as he left.

"He's not worth chasing. None of it is." Said Jack.

"You did the right thing, Jack." Said Austin.

"Maybe." Said Jack. She then looked around for a second, a somewhat sad look on her face. "This room was my whole childhood. Give me a minute to look around."

"Go ahead." Said Austin.

"Nothing's changed… but it's all different." Said Jack.

The first thing Jack looked at was the large window.

"I thought that room out there was the rest of the world. I'd pound and yell. Never did any good." She said.

Next to that was a bed. Despite how old it must be, it still looked in rather good condition.

"Sometimes I dream that I'm back in this bed being tortured. I used to tie the sheets around my wrists and try to rip them off. I want to stop coming back here. Said Jack.

Jack then walked to the overturned desk. She gently ran her hand over it.

"I used this table for everything. It was like my best friend. I'd crawl under it to cry. I was pathetic." She said.

Lastly, Jack walked out of the room and looked at a large blood stain on the nearby wall.

"See the scarring on the wall here? That's where I killed my first man. One of the guards tried to stop me. Instead, I stopped him." She said, smiling a bit as she remembered the sensation. "Okay, no more wallowing. Let's blow this place to hell."

Austin and Miranda where both silent. Jack had the bomb trigger in her hand and flipping the cover on and off, still somewhat hesitant of pressing the button. After a few flips though, she finally pressed the button.

"Brace yourselves, ladies. Griffin told me that bomb he made pack a hell of a-" said Austin, but he was interrupted when the whole shuttle seemed to shake violently forcing everyone out of their seats. Even Urz lost his balance. "- punch." He finished.

* * *

Overall, that mission had gone rather well. A defunct Cerberus base was now destroyed, some Blood Pack mercs had been taken care of, Jack had taken care of her distractions and would now be focused on the mission and Urz had got a good little bit of exercise. It was a nice change for the Varren rather than him having his daily walks in the simulator, as was the case. (Walking him on the Normandy was rather boring and he hardly had any room. The simulator gave him plenty of room to have the exercise he needed, but it was still better for him to get some fresh air every now and then)

All in all, a job well done. Just at that moment however, it seemed a bit premature as Joker's voice then informed Austin of some rather bad news.

" _Major, Jack Miranda are in the middle of a… disagreement. Can you head it off before they tear out a bulkhead?"_ he said.

"I'll deal with it." Austin sighed.

" _Take pictures."_

Austin immediately headed for Miranda's quarters. He could already hear shouting. The second the door opened, he saw Jack throw a chair right at Miranda which she narrowly threw to the side with her own biotics.

"Touch me and I will smear the walls with you, bitch!" the convict yelled.

The two made for each other, but Austin quickly stepped in.

"Enough! Stand down, both of you!" he yelled as he forced the two apart and kept them at arm's length.

"The cheerleader won't admit what Cerberus did to me was wrong!" said Jack.

"It wasn't Cerberus. Not really. But clearly you were a mistake." Said Miranda.

"Screw you! You've got no idea what they put me through! Maybe it's time I showed you!" Jack retorted.

Austin hated having to take sides in an argument like this, but he had little choice. It was easy for him to decide who he supported, she was right after all.

"The people I recruit are my business, Miranda. You leave Jack alone!" Austin ordered.

"She can't be trusted, Shepard. She's unstable. She's jeopardizing the mission." Miranda objected.

"Jack's doing just fine. Maybe you should take a look at your own attitude!" Austin retorted.

Miranda didn't say anything. She knew she couldn't' win this argument and simply went to sit back down, he expression clearly showing how angry she was.

"My thoughts exactly." Said Jack as she left.

"Are we good?" Austin asked as he too stepped outside.

"No even remotely." Miranda replied coldly.

The doors closed.

"Jack's right. She is a bitch."

* * *

Austin immediately wanted to check on how Jack was doing and he headed down to the engine room. To his surprise, he found that Kelly was there as well.

"Hello, Shepard." she smiled.

"Kelly. Jack." Said Austin as he acknowledged them both.

"I needed to wipe that place off the map. You took me there to do it, and I owe you." Said Jack as she lay back on her makeshift bed. "You don't know what it's like, Shepard. To have garbage like that following you. It marks you in ways you… you don't expect."

"I've made a lot of hard choices, Jack. Like what to let go." Said Austin sympathetically.

"Hard to walk away from it. You'd think it would get easier now that the place is a crater, but what else do I know?" said Jack.

"I never thought I'd see you show mercy, but you let Aresh live. I'm quite proud that you made that choice on your own." Said Kelly.

"He was trapped in the past, reliving it every day. Shepard showed how that could be me. I'm not getting stuck like that. I'm better than him, and I'm sure as hell not carrying that crater around with me." Jack replied.

"Do you think you're different now?" Austin asked.

"I know that place is gone. But I still kind of want to kill every person I see. No offense." Said Jack.

"Well, that's a start. I'll take what can get with you, Jack." Austin smiled.

"You did a lot, Shepard. Shit, I'm not good at this soft stuff. Just… thanks, okay? Let's… let's get back to work." Said Jack, managing to smile back a bit..

"I'll leave you two alone." Said Austin as he turned to leave. "And Jack, I trust this sort of thing won't side-track us again?"

"Yes, Sir! Major, sir?! Whatever." Jack chuckled.

"See you round."

With that, Austin left, leaving Kelly and Jack alone together.

"You okay?" Kelly asked.

She stood up from her usual spot and sat down next to Jack on her bed.

"Kelly, I'm not complaining, but why do you care so much? I know we've been together for a while but it's just been sex." said Jack.

"We both know that's not true, Jack. I've seen it in your eyes. I can't deny that I care for you. I want this to be more than just sex." said Kelly calmly as she held Jack's hand.

Jack seemed to grow a bit saddened by this. Her tone of voice indicated emotion.

"I... I know, and... I care about you too. Shit. I never thought I'd say this, but I see you as more than just a friend." she said

Kelly moved herself closer and went to kiss Jack, but the convict stopped her.

"But we can't. I don't' want you to get hurt." she said.

"Why do you do this to yourself, Jack? Why do you push me away? I'm not trying to use you." Kelly asked.

Jack hesitated for a long while before she finally spoke.

"Murtock, a guy. He used me like the rest, for sex, for biotics. It was fun, and he ruined everything. We tagged a weapons frigate with a Batarian escort and got separated. He had a choice, leave with the guns or come back for me. Idiot dumped the score and waded into the squince. I made the shuttle, but no way he was getting out." she explained.

"And?" Kelly asked.

"I fly for a day or so, and then the shuttle kicks out this recording. He set it to play if he hadn't checked in. He figured that would mean he was dead. Talked about the future we were supposed to have, how he had planned to set us up a home, how he... how he loved me and he was sorry it wasn't going to happen." said Jack.

"You feel like his death was your fault." said Kelly as she put her arm around Jack reassuringly.

"No. He did it to himself. You feel, you get sloppy. It's that damn simple. He found out, and you'll find out."

"If he'd left you, you would have died." said Kelly.

"So what? You ever see me flinch, or run? Death is easy, fucking on-off switch. But this... it just burrows in. Like those husks, you end up with nothing inside. I'm supposed to take that and say "thanks dead guy." said Jack.

"I can't make all that go away, Jack. Not in a few talks." said Kelly, a bit more serious this time.

"No kidding. Told you we wouldn't work. Guess you'll be spending more time upstairs." said Jack.

"No. I'll be here with you." Kelly smiled.

"But you just said…"

"I said I couldn't fix it. I didn't say you weren't worth staying for anyway." Said Kelly.

"Okay, what the fuck, Kelly?" said Jack.

"So you're crazy. So what? That's practically stamped on the boarding pass for this mission." Kelly smiled.

"It's just gonna hurt, or you'll mess around, or I'll end up killing you or something." Said Jack.

"And?"

"And… that sucks." Said Jack, her voice starting to break. She looked like she might cry.

"So it'll suck. But how much fun is it gonna be on the way?"

"I… I…"

Jack finally let all her barriers down. Tears filled her eyes causing her makeup to smear and run down her face as she sobbed into Kelly's shoulder.

Kelly kissed her a few times on the cheek and neck to make them feel better. Jack let out a comforted sigh and leant her head on Kelly's shoulder and eventually hugged her back. Sensing her distress, Kelly hugged her more tightly, and ran her hands all over Jack and kissed her a few more times.

"Shh, shhh. I'm here Jack, I'm here. It's alright." She said soothingly.

After a while, Jack finally calmed down and looked into Kelly's eyes.

"I need some time. I've never truly been in love before, so I don't wanna rush into love making. It's different from simple sex." She said.

"It's okay, Jack. I'll be there for you." Kelly smiled.

They slowly drew towards one another and kissed. They remained like that for a long time.

* * *

Down in the engineering deck meanwhile, Griffin had gone down to get rid of some of the garbage. Zaeed had mostly set his residents in the room that had the garbage cube maker. All around the room where several different souvenirs of Zaeed's.

"Griffin, I was just waxing goddamn nostalgic." he said as the Helldiver stepped.

Griffin nodded to him as he put all the waste into the machine. With that taken care of, he could now focus on talking to the Bounty hunter that he secretly looked up to a bit due to the fact that he'd founded the Blue Suns, the very merc group had briefly been a part of and learned how to use explosives from.

"You've certainly set up very well in here." said Griffin as he admired the place.

"If I'm gonna be staying here a while, I may as well make myself comfortable." Zaeed shrugged.

"It's nice. You've got a good collection of souvenirs." said Griffin.

He noticed an old Avenger assault rifle and went to pick it up to have a better look at it. Before he could however, Zaeed stopped him.

"Hey, don't touch! That rifle's older than you are. I call her Jessie." "That's my lucky charm. More men have been killed with that gun, than died in the Skyllian Blitz. The day I laid her to rest was the saddest day of my life. I'd give up every weapon I own for one more mission with that shitty old rifle." said the bounty hunter.

"Sorry. I hadn't realized." Griffin apologised.

"You've no idea, Wilson. I was down and out when I found that gun. Jessie was the first weapon I got my hands on. Took her everywhere. She didn't have much punch, but… reliable as all hell. She'd already been through a lot by the time I got her. Still, I never had to recite her once. Damn good rifle. I remember her first kill, Turian arms dealer out of Omega. I ran through miles of filth and rust to hunt him down. When I finally cornered him, that gun was caped in two inches of the foulest sludge you can imagine, but Jessie wanted that Turian dead. So two shots, and he died right there."

"Then why not still use it?" Griffin asked curiously.

"I don't take Jessie into battle anymore, had to retire her about 5 years ago. I was hunting down this Batarian slaver, forgot his name not important." Said Zaeed. This time there seemed to be a bit of regret in his voice, and even a hint of sorrow. "Carved my way through a hundred Batarian mercs, I don't remember ejecting a clip once. Jessie just kept firing. Reached the slaver and he got in my face so I went to blow him away and… nothing. The old bitch had finally jammed. So I smashed his face in with the butt of the gun and called in the job. After that, Jessie couldn't be fixed. Nothing anyone could do. Like she'd… finally had enough blood and was ready to rest. Been resting ever since."

"I'm sorry to hear that. It'd be like Shepard breaking his sword, Excalibur." Said Griffin sympathetically.

"Yeah. Sometimes the old ways are the best, but no weapon will ever compare to Jessie in my eyes." Said Zaeed.

"What's this?" Griffin asked as he pointed to what looked like a model of a Turian ship. "Hmm, didn't expect you to be the sort of person to collect model ships, Zaeed."

"Oh yeah. That's a model of the Verrikan. Turian frigate, hell of a ship. I led a mission to bring that thing down from the inside with just five men and whatever guns we could bring. No chance of success, but we did it. Everyone died, but me. So I made out like a bandit. My first impossible mission as an independent contractor. There's been many since, but nothing so goddamn sweet as watching that Turian warship crash planet-side." said Zaeed. He smiled a bit as he remembered some of his old war stories.

"Hmm, sounds like you seen it all and done it all. Got any other good war stories?" Griffin asked.

"Hundreds." Zaeed replied.

"What about this?" Griffin as he pointed to a Blood Pack Krogan helmet.

"Beauty, isn't it? Pried that of the Krogan Warlord Gazaak. Used to run the Blood Pack out of Omega 17 years ago. Wasn't even a job. The guy just thought he'd hijack a freighter I was hitchhiking on. Big mistake. I goaded Gazaak into one on one combat. Took out his legs, grabbed his gun and killed every Blood Pack bastard in the room. That was the most beaten Krogan I've ever seen. Kept the helmet to remind of that pained expression." Said Zaeed.

"You know, with Vido gone the Blue Suns could learn an awful lot more from you." Said Griffin, rather impressed.

"If only it where that easy." Zaeed shrugged.

"Well, think about it. Many of them will be scared of you after that. He tried to kill you, but instead you killed him."

"I turned my back on that life a long time ago. I should let you go. Talk more later, Griffin." Said Zaeed.

Griffin got the message and felt it best to just leave the Bounty hunter alone.

"Thanks for the talk, Zaeed." He said.

"The least I can do for what you did for me on Zorya. Believe me, killing Vido does more than solve my problems. It also solves hundreds of other problems as well." Said Zaeed, his face flashing a brief smile of appreciation.

"See you round."

* * *

**R.I.P Robin Sachs. You will be missed.**

**Also, do not worry. Shepard will get Miranda's loyalty back. It'll be in a slightly different way to the game though and I think fans will approve of it.**

**See you soon! Overlord next, I also can't wait to see your reactions to the special cameo in that one.**


	33. Chapter 33, Overlord

**Done at last!**

**I should apologize if some of the fight scenes in this aren't that in depth. The final boss battle is much better, I promise. Especially when you see who it's with.**

**Hope you like this, I can't wait to hear how surprised you'll be.**

* * *

**Chapter 33**

**Overlord**

Austin had to admit that everyone aboard the Normandy, including him, was getting bored. Without any more loyalty missions, or anywhere else to go, everyone was struggling to find things to keep them occupied. Sure there'd been that time a few days ago where the Normandy had received even more upgrades from some of the other crew which were guaranteed to give them the edge and advantages they needed over a Collector Ship. But that had been a while now and the refit hadn't taken very long.

Normally, Austin would try and kill the time by spending it constantly with his hopefully future wife, Liara. But his quarters didn't have much. He didn't have any movies for them to watch and they couldn't use the bath a lot due to the water supply. They also didn't want to overdo their sex; otherwise it might have a negative impact on their relationship.

Some of the others had managed to take care of the boredom by using the simulator to brush up on their combat skills, but Austin preferred to use the spare time in a more peaceful manner. If he were able to, he would've taken Liara out on a date.

It did suddenly occur to Austin now that they could perhaps go to get the Reaper IFF now. They'd got everyone now, and they were as ready as they could be. No time like the present.

Austin was just about to ask for EDI to tell Joker to plot a course, when the AI suddenly appeared in front of him. Austin knew from this that she must have something to tell him. EDI didn't contact Austin out of respect for his privacy unless it was something important.

"Important news, EDI?" he asked, yawning a bit.

 _"The Arkane Council wishes to speak to you in the debriefing room, Shepard."_ said EDI.

"Another colony attack?" Austin asked, this time with urgency. If the Arkane Council was calling, that could only mean it was either something urgent or a colony attack.

 _"I am afraid I do not know the details. They did say however that it concerns Cerberus."_ said EDI.

"I'll be right down."

* * *

"Shepard. I trust your mission is going well?" Spartan asked.

"I'd say we may be ready to go after the IFF now, Councillors. So yes, it is going well." Austin replied.

"We hate to hold you up then, Major. But we have a situation we'd like you to investigate." said Tarnack.

"EDI told me it concerns Cerberus. Do I need to be concerned about Miranda and Jacob again?" Austin asked.

"Fortunately, no. Mr Taylor and Miss Lawson are not involved with this." replied one of the councillors.

"Our spies in Cerberus recently found out about one of their secret operations called Project Overlord. They weren't able to find out the full details, but what we do know is that they were experimenting on controlling something and they've now gone dark. Whatever they're doing, it can't be good." Spartan explained.

"Without knowing the full extent of what Cerberus is up to, we're uneasy by sending in full force so..."

"So you'd like us to go there, assess the situation, and call in the fleet if necessary?" Austin asked.

"Yes." Tarnack replied.

"Consider it done then, Councillors." said Austin as he bowed his head.

"Good. And Shepard, be careful. I know we do not know much, but something about this is making us feel uneasy." said Spartan.

* * *

As the Normandy entered the atmosphere of ..., Austin, Sarah, X-5 and Liara climbed into the Hammerhead. Chances are they were going to need it.

The large hover vehicle touched down and everyone stepped out. As soon as they did however, a voice sounded in the comlink.

" _Thank god you came! My name is Dr. Gavin Archer. The situation is urgent – we're facing a catastrophic VI breakout. I'll explain the details later, but you must retract that transmission dish! The controls aren't far from your position. You have to hurry!"_

Normally, Austin would want to know the full details. But under the circumstances, he'd make an exception.

The group headed into the facility. It was a mess. Blood stains on the walls, overturned furniture, consoles sparking, and a lot of dead bodies.

"What the hell happened here?" said Sarah.

"That's what we're here to find out, sis." said Austin.

 

They descended some stairs before a large monitor turned itself on. A scientist could be seen on it. It looked like he was talking to them.

" _Over here – on the monitor."_

The others cautiously stepped forward until he could see them.

" _Ah, there you are. I've locked myself in a computer room on the far side of the base. There are Geth on the loose. A rouge VI program has seized control and… I've lost a lot of friends today. I'd hate to see you join them. Please watch yourself."_ he said. He had the same voice as the one they'd heard when they arrived, so this was obviously Gavin Archer.

If Austin had known that the Geth were involved, he would've brought Leena and Tai with him. Still, it wasn't like his current squad was unsuitable for fighting Geth.

They followed the path to an observation deck. In the distance, they could see a large transmitting dish. Austin pressed the button and the dish slowly began descending. Just as it was about to complete however, it stopped.

 _"System error."_ said the computer.

What happened next made everyone jump back in fright. Every single holographic interface glowed a bright green with two bright eyes staring out of them. A loud unintelligible buzz could be heard. They appeared for a few moments before then vanishing.

 _"Damn it! The VI's overridden the controls. We have to stop him - he's trying to upload his program off planet."_ said Archer. "Destroy _the antennas inside the dish. There's a tram on the lower level. Get to it as fast as you can!"_

The group didn't need to be told twice, and they increased their pace. Pretty soon, they came to a tram. They hurried into it and it set off the dish.

 _"Damn it all - he's aligning the dish to a new upload target! He'll have a clear line of sight to our satellite! This is going to be tight."_ said Archer.

The doors opened and they hurried to the dish itself.

_"You need to destroy the support struts now. They have their own capacitors - try blowing them up!"_

"There better be a good reason for this." said Sarah as they climbed the steps to the base of the dish.

"I actually hope so too." Austin replied.

* * *

They reached the massive inside of the dish where the supports where. Before they could get to work however, a rocket suddenly headed in their direction.

"Watch out! Incoming!" Liara yelled as she threw up a biotic shield to protect everyone.

Austin looked to see where the shot had come from. A small army of Geth had arrived. Something strange about them however was that their eyes where glowing green. It was almost as though they were being controlled by something.

Everyone went to cover and began firing. Fortunately, these VI controlled Geth didn't seem to act any different than normal Geth, so they had the same sort of tactics and weaknesses that the group could exploit.

They split into two teams. Sarah and X-5 keeping the Geth occupied while Austin and Liara worked on destroying the capacitors.

The battle was very short lived as the last Geth fell and the final Capacitor was destroyed.

 _"You've done it! You've severed the link to the satellite!"_ said Archer.

Just before everyone could relax however, the dish started to shake violently. Looking up, Austin saw the structure starting to fall apart.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Austin groaned as he saw the debris fall in their direction.

"Recommend we engage running mode, sir." X-5 said.

"Yep. MOVE! The whole thing's giving way!" Austin yelled.

Everyone ran as fast as they could. Everyone jumped, except Sarah who Austin grabbed onto. She couldn't' jump as far as the others since she didn't have Helldiver armour. They all managed to land on the balcony just as the entire dish fell apart and collapsed.

"Over here!"

Archer came running out of the smoke at them.

"What the hell is going on around here?" Sarah asked.

"Man's reach exceeding his grasp. Come on, I'll explain." said Archer.

Austin helped Liara up and they followed Archer back to the tram.

"Thank, brother." said Sarah, grateful for what Austin had done.

'What would you do without me?" Austin smiled.

Both siblings banged fists with as they smiled at one another under their helmets.

* * *

"You have my eternal thanks, Major Shepard. You bought us some time, though probably not much. This isn't over yet." said Archer. They were back in the complex right next to the landing bay where the Hammerhead was.

Everyone else was outside gathering the bodies up and putting them in bags. Even though they were Cerberus, the dead still deserved some respect.

"You owe us that explanation." said Austin.

"This is Project Overlord. An attempt to gain influence over the Geth by interfacing a human mind with a VI. The results have been... less than unsatisfactory. Archer explained. "My brother David volunteered to serve as a test subject. But somehow, his mind isn't able to handle the VI connection. He's like a virus now, infecting our networks and seizing control of any technology he finds. It's why you had to destroy the dish. Imagine if his program got off-world."

"How does he take control of electronics?" Austin asked.

"This is a hybrid intelligence the likes of which I've never seen. I don't know where the man ends and the machine begins." Archer replied. "One thing that does confuse me is why he hasn't tried to hack and control your suits."

"I think I know. We have several of the best firewalls in the galaxy, and the Arkanes build the Helldivers to resist all forms of hacking." said Austin. "I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't tried because he knows he'll fail."

"That makes sense." said Archer.

"Still, you should have considered that before you started the experiment!" said Austin crossly.

"We couldn't be expected to account for every outcome! Certainly not the abomination David has become." said Archer. "Davi… the VI has fortified itself in the main laboratory at Atlas Station. It's in lockdown now. To enter, you need to manually override from our facilities in the Prometheus and Vulcan Stations."

"How does the lockdown work?" Austin asked.

"It's a fail-safe procedure in the event of an emergency. Normally, all three project leads have to agree to cancel the lockdown. I'm the only one left now. I can give my authorization, but you'll have to manually reset the other two yourself."

Archer then walked up to nearby panel and pulled a cylinder out of it. One of the three bars on the holographic screen retracted.

"And what happens if I have to kill your brother?" Austin asked.

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that. said Archer as he sat down.

"What exactly went wrong with the experiment?" Austin asked.

"David volunteered to interface with the VI to give it genuine consciousness. Theoretically it should have been safe, but… with artificial intelligence there is no such thing as safe." Archer replied.

"Then you shouldn't have attempted it!" said Austin.

"And what if you had never attempted to find the Reapers, Major Shepard? Where would the galaxy be then? Sometimes you have to ignore the risks." said Archer defensively.

"We're heading out now." said Austin.

"The other stations are all within driving distance. Best of luck, Major." said Archer.

* * *

After crossing a surprisingly beautiful canyon to get to the station, the Hammerhead slowed down as it entered the volcanic plains of Vulcan station. Austin was very thankful now that Dell had made some upgrades to it and also done maintenance check just this morning as he saw the big rivers of lava.

 _"Major, this is Archer. I advise extreme caution. Vulcan Station is our geothermal plant. They stopped reporting in shortly after the experi-"_ said Archer through the radio, but he was cut off before he could finish.

"Scanning area… Analysis: VI infection is present within plant machinery. Advise caution." said the Hammerhead's computer.

* * *

It took several long hours and hundreds of fights with both Geth and mechs to get through the station to the lockdown. While Austin was no longer bored, he was beginning to think that he should've been careful what he wished for. Perhaps it became too true.

Regardless though, they soon found the area that had the lockdown. When they entered the room, they found a possessed mech shooting and trying to damage the lockdown control. It kicked it several times before it noticed the group.

Before it could fire on them however, they fired first. The mech instantly lost both its arms. Its green holographic eyes then seemed to disappear as the VI connection ceased. The armless mech, confused, simply started running around like headless chicken.

Austin simply ignored it and pulled the pillar out of the lockdown.

"Override of Atlas Station lockdown accepted."

 _"…are you receiving this? Major Shepard, this is Dr Archer. Please respond."_ he heard through his comm.

"I hear you, Doctor. We've hit the override at Vulcan Station and are moving on." said Austin.

He once again noticed the armless mech standing right next to him. It wasn't any good like this, and it really just seemed like torture. Best thing to do: put it out of its misery. He activated his shoulder cannon, and blew the mechs head off.

"Shepard out."

* * *

 _"Major, that was a daring piece of work. Vulcan Station was a success."_ said Archer.

The Hammerhead was now en-route to Prometheus station. Austin had to be careful not to run over any of the cows. It was tempting, but he wasn't a thoughtless killer.

"It's a shame actually. We see such beautiful vistas, yet we're never there under good circumstances." said Sarah as she admired the view.

"I guess that's a part of the job." said Austin.

Just at that moment however, there was a sudden bump. Austin hadn't been looking where he was going and had accidentally hit a cow.

"Oops." said Austin, trying to sound innocent.

Before anyone could say anything though, the cow suddenly got back up. It shook itself a bit, and then simply walked off like nothing had happened.

"That was lucky. Next time keep your eyes on the road, or whatever." said Sarah.

"Don't distract me then." Austin retorted.

"Can we not argue now, please?!" Liara interrupted rather forcefully.

That seemed to do the trick.

* * *

_"Major Shepard, Prometheus Station is a crashed Geth ship full of dormant machines used in our experiment. Our people there have gone silent. It's likely the VI has activated the defence shields to keep you out. Good lu-"_

"Where's Sandra when you need here to keep a secure signal?" Sarah sighed.

Sure enough, the remains of a crashed Geth dreadnought could be seen in the distance.

"I don't' know about you, but whenever I see Geth, I'm always reminded of the Terror Geth. You remember him, don't you?" said Sarah.

"How could I forget? Everyone remembers the Terror Geth. Especially me and Liara." said Austin.

"That was when we first met." said Liara, smiling as she remembered the events on Therum. Three years ago that had been, and yet here she and Austin where, now lovers and bond mates as though it where only yesterday.

* * *

The overall atmosphere of the dreadnought was a bit scarier. They were expecting a Geth to jump out at them any minute. There were a few Geth bodies lying around, but every single one of them was dead and deactivated.

After a small while of navigating the ship, and even having to build a makeshift bridge to cross a lot of open water.

The next override was activated. Now Atlas station was accessible.

"Override of Atlas Station lockdown accepted."

"Well, that one was a lot easier than I thought it was gonna be." said Sarah.

At that moment however, the humming sound of machines powering up echoed around the entire dreadnought. one of the dead Geth then started moving, its eye glowing green.

"And there's the catch." said Austin.

 

* * *

The Hammerhead slowly descended into Atlas station. Everyone slowly got out as it touched down. The atmosphere around them was a little tense since they were all a bit nervous.

Archer's voice once again cae through their comm only for it to then be cut off again shortly.

_"Looks like you're in, Major. Good. I'm getting some troubling readings here, though. The VI is trying to upload its program directly from your location. Get to the server room and shut down the core before it can-"_

"Lost it again." Sarah sighed.

"Comm channels never where the Arkane's strongest points." said Austin.

* * *

Surprisingly, there wasn't as much resistance in this place as they'd thought. Austin had expected this place to be heavily fortified and guarded by many Geth. But there only seemed to be a few stragglers, nothing they couldn't handle. The only explanation was probably that Cerberus only had so many Geth in this complex an they couldn't make more.

After a while, they finally found the controls they where looking for int he server room. Austin holsterd his assault rifle and prepared to shut the core down.

"Get ready. I wouldn't be surprised if this button summoned a Reaper." he said cautiously.

Everyone nodded and stood ready. Right as Austin activated the controls however, the VI infection once again appeared on the screen and this time it traveled straight through his omni tool and into his armour.

"Oh no you don't!" said Austin as he tried to move. But he couldn't. His suit was in danger.

"Warning! Hacking attempt detected!" his suit's computer warned him.

"Austin!" Liara shouted as she ran to him, but some of the energy forced her back.

"I can't control my movement!" Austin groaned as he tried to regain control.

"Firewall breached! Movement controls compromised!" said the suit.

Without any control, the suit made Austin walk outside of the room before David's influence seemed to leave him.

The door sealed itself, the holographic lock disappearing only to be replaced by thousands of red ones.

"Austin! Austin!" Liara yelled as she and the others tried to get it open.

"Insufficient and unauthorized codes! Rejecting!" said the suit.

Austin's vision went static for a moment before it returned to normal. He tried to move, and found that he now had control again. His vision seemed a bit different. Now everything was green and holographic. It was strange, but easy to get used to. It actually reminded Austin of the very early simulators that the Helldivers once used before more lifelike advanced version were made.

"Movement control re-enabled. Systems secure!"

"Must remember to tell Dell to perhaps make an upgrade for this." Austin said to himself. He then turned to the locked door and banged on it. "Guys, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

"Austin! Thank the goddess you're alright. Are you okay?" he heard Liara reply from the other side.

"I'm fine! I've regained control my suit and my firewalls seem to be keeping the VI out. What about you?" he replied.

"We're okay, but we're stuck in here. He's hacked the door and locked us in." said Sarah.

"I don't see any way to get you out." said Austin.

With all the different locks, it was impossible for him to force it open. Cutting probably wouldn't' work either

"You'll have to go on without us then. Shut the VI down." said Sarah.

"Okay."

"Be careful, my love." said Liara.

"Don't worry, Liara. They'd have to rebuild the Terror Geth to have a faintest chance at least of taking me down." said Austin.

Out of the corner of his eye, he then noticed what looked like a holographic video recording. It was of three people heading through the door on the far side.

Austin had a feeling that something was going on here. Perhaps there was more to this than he knew. Remaining cautious though, he unholstered his M-76 Revenant and went through the door.

After dealing with a few more Geth, Austin found himself inside a lab. As he looked around, he saw some sort of disturbance in the distance. He walked up to it, and it seemed to turn into a video log. Two holograms of Archer, and who Austin guessed was David, where projected in front of him.

"Square root of 906.01 is 30.1... square root of 912..04 is 30.2..." David mumbled to himself.

"Time on this project is running out. There are no options left. How to get the Geth's attention?" said Archer.

At that moment, David suddenly stood up, and to Austin utter astonishment, he mimicked the Geth language.

 _"Did he just...?"_ Austin thought. "... _Now I've seen everything."_

"The robot says hello." said David.

"Eureka. David, you're a miracle worker." said Archer.

The holograms vanished to be replaced by another disturbance in a different location. Austin had the feeling that David, using what control he desperately had from the VI, was trying to tell him something.

The next hologram showed, David, Archer, a few scientists and also a Geth hung up on a mechanical arm.

'David, I want you to order the Geth to take a step forward." said Archer.

David did so, and the Geth's legs moved.

"How does he do it?" asked one of the scientists as David sat down on the floor.

"David is a mathematical savant. His autistic mind can interpret the Geth language at its most basic form and mimic their phonetics." Archer explained. "With his photographic memory, cross-referencing the meaning is a snap. He's literally a human computer."

"And you think he can interface with the Geth's neural network?"

"I do." Archer replied.

'Is that even safe, Doctor?"

"I see no harm in finding out."

The holograms once again vanished.

"There's more to this than I was told, isn't there, David?" Austin asked. He didn't expect there to be reply, instead another disturbance appeared. This time it was just Archer and David again.

"Square root of 906.01 is 30.1... square root of 912.04 is 30.2..." said David.

"David, can you repeat my notes from Thursday's experiment?" Archer requested.

"Square root of 918.09 is 30.3." said David, almost oblivious to what his brother had just said.

"David! Please pay attention!" said Archer, a bit more serious this time.

"Loud! It's getting loud in here." Said David.

"I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that. Would you mind repeating my notes from Thursday's experiment?" said Archer.

"Log 137.3. The experiment yielded no discernible patterns of Geth obedience. End dictation now, David. Hell, the Illusive Man will have my head for this" said David.

"Thank you. And how are you feeling today?" Archer asked.

"Square root of 924.16 is 30.4... earplugs would be good." David replied.

* * *

Austin followed the corridors a bit more until he finally reached the central chamber. A large structure with hundreds of cables and pipes connected to it lay in the center. Under the ring of the structure was a green holo sphere. Austin could see the faint silhouette of someone inside it connected to machine.

Once again, another hologram appeared. This time it was Archer and another scientist. David had obviously been connected this time.

"Square root of 906.01 is 30.1... square root of 912.04 is 30.2..." he heard David say.

"We're ready. Open a connection to the Geth network." said Archer.

There was a brief pause before the consoles sparked.

"QUIET!" David yelled.

Two Geth soldiers under David's control came into view of the hologram, their guns aimed at the scientists.

"David, NO! Tell the Geth to stand down!" Archer order urgently.

"QUIET! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!"

Another hologram suddenly projected in front of Archer. It was far too static for Austin to see it clearly but whatever it was, it was massive. The hologram practically stood at over 3 meters tall.

The holograms of the scientist and Archer turned to face it.

"What the the..." said Archer before the hologram log was cut off.

Austin was beginning to understand what was going on. Archer had lied to him about David volunteering, he hadn't had a choice.

Austin's thoughts however where interrupted when the green holographic of Overlord suddenly turned bright red. The face disappeared and was now replaced with what looked like a red mechanical eye of sorts. Then something extremely unexpected happened.

Out of the top of the ring, a humanoid hologram ascended. It was a Geth. But as it appeared even more, he saw that this was not an ordinary Geth at all. It was a three metre tall Geth prime with clawed feet, a nuke launcher on its right wrist, and two long horns protruding from its head.

To the Helldiver's horror, there in front of him, stood a perfect life-like hologram... of the Terror Geth.

The hologram looked straight at him. It even emitted the same deep voiced language that the real Terror Geth once did. Austin did at least know that this was not the real Terror Geth at all. He'd killed that mutated Geth Prime himself and had watched it die. He could easily work out that the VI must've accessed one of his suit's recordings and had registered the Terror Geth as a suitable enemy (and its case, a defence mechanism)

The Terror Geth hologram emitted the same low and threatening growl as the real Terror Geth and hopped down from the platform. Austin could see where this was going and holstered his rifle. He then took out his sword and also activated his omni blade. He had a feeling that while this wasn't the real Terror Geth, the hologram could still fight like the real one.

The Terror Geth charged, blade arm at the ready. The two opponents clashed fiercely with one another. A few bits of good news was that the hologram did seem to move slower than its counterpart, so Austin was able to either dodge or block it's strikes.

However, the hologram still moved with the same ferocity and strength as the original. One punch landed Austin in the stomach and he was sent flying. Fortunately, he was able to dig his omni blade into the ground and slow him down.

The hologram Terror Geth even used its nuke launcher, which fired real shots. Something Austin was beginning to notice was that his suit upgrades where really showing their true purpose now. He moved faster than he had originally against the Geth, he was stronger, and he was also a bit smarter now. The last three years had made him a bit wiser and he also knew a few new tricks to put to use.

The Terror Geth made another swing at him, but he dodged under it and sliced the Geth Prime's leg with both his blades. The hologram temporarily stumbled, but quickly got back up and lunged again. Despite that Austin was clearly hurting it, and the hologram being solid, he just wasn't causing enough damage. Not to mention that the hologram seemed to keep healing ever single injury. While the Helldiver had the skills, strength and speed to defeat this hologram, they would all mean nothing if he couldn't critically damage it.

The two lunged at each other again and both clashed, ending up in a blade lock. The enemies glared at one another as they tried to overpower the other. Despite that they were face to face, the Terror Geth didn't say anything. It was very quiet. The only noises it did make where the growls and usual noises that all Geth made.

Then Austin spotted something. A holographic stream of some kind had appeared around the main platform where David was connected the VI. At one end of the steam was what looked like an upload signal, and it was very slowly traveling to the other end.

 _"Oh no. He's trying to upload to the Normandy!"_ Austin thought. _"Not on my watch!"_

Using manual aim, the Helldiver activated his plasma cannon and targeted the uplink. The Terror Geth only just noticed this, and tried to upset his aim, but the shot had already fired by the time it happened. The plasma hit its target and the uplink went static before disappearing. This seemed to have an effect on the holographic Terror Geth as well, as it also went static for a minute and feel too its knees in a state of weakness.

 _"Gotcha!"_ Austin thought.

This small victory was short lived though, as the hologram quickly got back up, ready for another fight. This time though, Austin knew how to beat him. David was inside the sphere VI core, which was protected by several barriers. Those however had come down when the uplink had been halted. If he could damage that core enough times, perhaps this could all end.

The Terror Geth made another running charge. This time though, Austin was clever. He rolled out of the way, causing the Terror Geth to run right past him. It smashed into the VI core hard, getting its horns stuck at the same time.

Despite the situation he was on, Austin couldn't help but chuckle a bit. It was a actually a bit humorous to see the Terror Geth try to force itself free like sometimes happened in a comedy cartoon.

As the hologram pushed as hard as it could to free itself =, the VI once again tried another upload. Once again, Austin fired upon it and it went static again and disappeared. Once again, the Terror Geth hologram flickered, this time more. Clearly that was hurting it and the VI.

The Terror Geth finally gave a violent push and was freed, damaging the VI core even more at the same time.

The two once again clashed around the Core. Whenever it tried to upload its program, Austin destroyed it and fired more on the VI core. The more he damage he caused, the more ferocious the Terror Geth seemed to get. The VI was obviously detecting that it was getting closer and closer to being deactivated. If a VI could experience fear, this was probably the closest it could get.

Austin managed to get an opening and he parried one of the hologram's strikes, causing it to stumble. Seizing his chance at an opening, he spun and plunged Excalibur straight into the eye.

"Let's see you get up from that one." Said Austin.

The Terror Geth hologram however seemed almost unfazed by this. To Austin astonishment, it reached up and gently pulled the sword out. The wound healed instantly.

"What does it take to kill you?!" said Austin as he managed to shrug off the holograms grip and backed away to give himself more room.

This time the Terror Geth swung at Austin with its nuke launcher. That however was a big mistake, as Austin dodged it and as it went past he cut it with both his blades.

The launcher quickly became unstable by the damage and exploded. The cubes scattering everywhere seemed to disorient Austin for a moment. So much so that he did notice the Terror Geth swing at him again. It may have lost its entire arm, but as the Helldiver knew, it took more than that to bring down this particular Geth Prime.

Only too late did he fail to block the attack and the Terror Geth knocked Excalibur out of his hand and pinned his omni blade arm with one of its feet.

The Helldiver struggled as hard as he could to get free, but the grip was too strong. The Terror Geth slowly raised its blade arm to deliver the final blow.

 _"You die!"_ it said, mimicking the same thing he had said before severing the real Terror Geth's head three years ago.

Austin struggled even more. He did not fear death, but it couldn't end like this. If he died, who would defeat the Reapers?

All the while, the Terror Geth had failed to notice that the AI was sparking. The amount of damage it had sustained was critical.

_"Warning! AI core at critical levels!"_

The red holo eye flickered. Once again, David's voice seemed echoed throughout the chamber.

"QUIET! PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!"

The hologram went static and terminated itself. This then travelled down to the AI core which practically exploded. At the very same time, the Terror Geth thrust its blade forward. Right before the blade could pierce through Austin's armour however, the hologram seemed to explode as well into several tiny green cubes. Austin opened his eyes, he was alive.

 _"Now that was way too close."_ he said in his mind. He was panting rather heavily. It had been an intense fight.

He slowly got back up on his feet and looked at where the AI core had been. What he saw however, made him go pale.

David was held in the air by several clamps of some sort. He had two large pipes forced into his mouth, a metallic colour and harness of some sort grafted painfully into the flesh around his neck, and several pipes plugged into his arms. the very ends of them also went right through his arms. David's eyes were also forced to be kept open with special clamps. There where clear sings of tears running down his face. The whole sight of it was horrible. Austin could barely imagine how much torture and pain this must be for him. How could Archer do this to his own brother? How could anyone do this to another person?!

Austin slowly stepped closer to him. He'd seen some of the horrible things Cerberus had done, but this... this was so much worse. He was almost lost for words.

"Quiet - please make it stop." David repeated. he couldn't speak due to the tubes forced into his mouth. The computer must be reading his speech patterns.

"I've made it stop, David. It's over." Austin managed to say.

"Wait! Major!" a voice yelled.

Austin turned to see Archer run into the chamber.

"I'm begging you. Don't do anything rash." he said.

You told me David volunteered! You lied to me!" Austin yelled as he seized the doctor by the neck.

"By necessity! If I'd told you the truth, you would have shut me down and not him. It's not like I planned this. It was an accident. Seeing David communicate with the Geth... it all seemed harmless."

"I saw his memory - he begged you not to do this." said Austin.

"I was desperate! The Illusive Man doesn't' broker failure!" said Archer. "Any war we fight with the Geth will be bloody. I was asked to find a way to avoid that.

"Who the hell gave you the right to play God?!" Austin nearly shouted.

"People who were too afraid to make difficult decisions themselves. When they pray for a miracle, they're really praying for men like me to make the tough choices. If my work spares a million mothers mourning the loss of a million sons, my conscience will rest easy." said Archer.

"So you'll sacrifice your brother's happiness for your own ambition?" Austin asked.

"Square root of 906.01 equals..." said David.

"30.1." Archer finished. There was a long silence before he spoke again. "What I've done to David is unethical. If he dies, it's unforgivable. Let me take care of him. Please."

"Quiet - please make it stop." David repeated.

"I've seen enough of your cruelty to know he'll never be free from it here. I'm taking him away." said Austin.

"No! Leave him! He's too valuable!" Archer shouted. He pulled out a pistol and fired several shots at Austin.

All the rounds did was bounce off his hard armour. Austin turned back ground and punched Archer right in the face. He staggered back clutching his bleeding nose.

"You even think about coming after your brother, and this bullet and maybe even a plasma shot will be waiting for you! Then we'll see who's valuable!" Austin shouted as he pointed his own Phalanx pistol at Archer.

"Where will you take him?" the scientist asked.

"Grissom Academy. They can help special cases like David - minus the torture. He'll also be safe from Cerberus and the Illusive Man. And he can go to hell a thousand times if he disapproves of this! I didn't Cerberus could sink any lower than what I've seen them do to children, I was so wrong." said Austin. The Helldiver then activated his comlink. "Joker, contact the Academy and let them know we've got someone who needs their help."

 _"Aye aye, Major."_ Joker replied.

"And one more thing, more Helldivers and Arkanes will come to secure this base. They'll see to it that all this is destroyed so that it can't be used again." said Austin.

"What about me?" Archer asked.

"if you're lucky, they'll just take what information they can get from you and send you back to Cerberus. They won't even want you to step one foot on their home-world to stand trial. If not, well I hope you like prison food." Austin replied.

The room was silent as Austin worked on getting David out of the machine. One thing could be heard however as David repeated the phrase over and over again.

"Square root of 912.04 is 30.2... it all seemed harmless..."

"It's okay. It's over. You're safe." said Austin as he helped David down after finally freeing him.

"You stopped him." David said.

"Him? Him, who?" Austin asked.

"The voices... Nazara... he will return..."

David only managed that much before he seemed to go into shock.

"What was all that about?" Austin asked himself.

"Square root of 912.04 is 30.2... it all seemed harmless..."

* * *

Austin simply lay in bed with Liara. They were still clothed, just cuddling. Liara had offered Austin some much needed comfort after what he'd seen and endured. In-particular she'd been horrified after seeing what Archer had done to David, and most surprised when her bond mate had mentioned about the holographic Terror Geth, but Austin had assured her it was nothing to worry about. After all, he killed the real one himself 3 years ago.

Liara had managed to drift off while cuddling with her bond mate and was now sleeping very peacefully. Austin simply smiled as he watched the sleeping Asari. Something about Liara made her look very cute when she was sleeping.

The peaceful cuddling was interrupted however when EDI suddenly appeared.

"This better be good, EDI." said Austin, whispering so as not to wake Liara up.

EDI seemed to get the message and lowered the volume of her voice to a whisper as well.

"I apologise for the interruption, Shepard. But Miss Lawson was hoping to speak with you when you have a moment." she said.

"What does she want this time?!" Austin groaned quietly.

"I believe she said something about an apology." EDI replied.

"About bloody time."

Austin gently got up, being careful not to wake Liara. He soon had himself free of her arms and was off the bed. Just before he left though, he picked up the covers and gently drew them over Liara. He then planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Sweet dreams, my Blue Goddess." he smiled.

* * *

Austin was hoping this would go okay. If Miranda was finally going to apologize, then they'd both be on good terms. When he entered, he found the former Cerberus Operative in her usual spot. She had what looked like a look of regret on her face.

"Shepard, thank you for coming. I'm sorry if interrupted anything." she said, almost with a hint of sadness in her voice. It was rather unexpected.

"EDI told me you wanted to apologise." said Austin as he crossed his arms.

"Yes. I've been having a long look at many of files and data you have on Cerberus. What I've read broke my heart... but it's also opened my eyes. And having recently heard about Overlord has only added to that. You, the Arkanes and every single Helldiver is right about Cerberus. I used to think that the Illusive Man wanted humanity to have more strength, but now I see that what he really wants to have us dominate all the other races, and even I think that is wrong." said Miranda. "What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry for the way I've been, and I take back everything I've said to defend Cerberus. I've been such a fool."

Austin was silent for a few moments. He was glad to see that Miranda had finally come round, but he was still waiting for her to say something else.

"I'm a forgiving person, Miranda. I'm glad you've finally seen the truth, but you should really be apologizing to Jack, not me. You really insulted her last time." he said.

"I already have. It took a bit of talks, but we worked things out. She's now accepted my apology. She still doesn't like me, but we're on good terms now." said Miranda.

"Good. Glad to hear you to won't be having any more arguments." said Austin.

"I just want you to know, Shepard. Whatever happens out there, you have my full support." said Miranda.

"Glad to hear, Miranda." Austin smiled.

"So, shall we get back to work, Major?"

"Carry on, Lawson."

"Yes sir!"

Austin left Miranda's quarters and headed up to the Galaxy Map. He knew immediately where to go now. It had gone on long enough now. It was time to get the Reaper IFF...

* * *

With Overlord now shut down, a few Arkane scientists, one or two Helldiver squads and a clean-up crew had arrived to secure the base. Archer was still there since he was now in Helldiver custody. The Helldivers planned to let him go back though as they had no intention of offering him defection after what he did to his brother. It wasn't like Archer had learned any secrets anyway, and they'd keep the base.

Archer was cooperating willingly with the Helldivers and showing them where everything was, and holding back no secrets. Some of the Arkane scientists where examining some of the research for anything that might help them at all in their fight against Cerberus.

"I just want to know if there's anything more I could've done to prevent this." said Archer, the regret of what he'd done obvious in his voice.

"Well, you certainly could've added some more firewalls to it. This VI's so easy to hack." said one of the Arkanes.

"What do you mean it's easy to hack? It's been destroyed." said Archer.

A worried look crept onto the Arkane's face when Archer said that.

"But... it's still here." he said.

"What?!"

"It's still here. It..." the Arkane examined the VI program more clearly. His expression turned to even more worry as he saw something else about the VI. "It hasn't even been activated at all yet."

"But that's impossible. The VI was activated when we moved forward with the Project. It was destroyed by Shepard." said Archer. He too walked up to the console. Sure enough though, the Arkane was right. The VI was there, despite the fact that it shouldn't be. It was still in fact waiting for its full activation, something that should have happened when it was linked to David's mind. A horrible thought began to creep into Archer's mind.

"Something we should know about, Archer?" the Arkane asked.

The two scientists looked at the large uplink array had David had originally been. They both casted worried looks at each other.

"I have a theory. But for all our sakes, I really hope it's wrong. If the VI intended for the project didn't make David do all this, then what did?"

Little did he know that the answer to that question would one day rock the universe of the Helldivers...

* * *

**Bit of good news and bad news for that bit. The good news is that we will find out the answer to that question. The bad news is, it won't be until ME3.**

**However, a lot of you readers are very clever. I have a feeling someone will work it out eventually. If not... well I guess I outdid myself.**

**I should also clarify for some of you. David said Nazara. In my version of Mass Effect, that's not Sovereign. Sovereign called itself by the name anyway, so I'd say that's it's real name. Not Nazara. So instead, I've changed it. Nazara is another Reaper. He'll be appearing in ME3, and as a little tease, Shepard has actually met him before, he just didn't it was a Reaper.**

**As I've probably said, next chapter is the Derelict Reaper. So finally we get Legion to join the team.**

**Leave reviews if you have any. I look forward to reading how some of you will react to the Terror Geth appearing again. Be honest, I'll you did not see that coming (except for those select few of you who already knew)**


	34. Chapter 34, The Unlikeliest of Allies

**Hello! Derelict Reaper finally done.**

**I wanted to try make this one a bit more scary in a way that it could compare to the one I did for ME1 with the Rachni. You may also spot a scene from a well known Sci Fi horror film in here somewhere.**

**Surprisingly, I also found myself including some comedy in this which you will hopefully see soon.**

**We're getting very close now. It won't be long before the suicide mission...**

* * *

**Chapter 34**

**The Unlikeliest of Allies**

The Normandy was shaking very violently. The planet that the Derelict Reaper was orbiting had a storm on at the moment and it was putting Joker's pilot skills to the test.

"What's with all the chop, Joker?" Austin asked as he held onto the pilot's seat.

"Doing my best. The winds gusting to 500 kph." said Joker.

Out of the window, they could already see the massive 2km corpse of the Reaper. It Austin didn't know better, he would've said it was Sovereign since the corpse looked identical. Or perhaps that was just because all Reapers looked the same.

"There's a second ship alongside the Reaper. It's not transmitting any IFF, but the ladar paints it silhouette as Geth." said Joker.

"I guess we know why the science team stopped reporting in." said Austin.

They continued getting closer and closer to the Reaper. Then suddenly the shaking seemed to stop instantly and everything smoothed out.

"What just happened?" Austin asked.

"The Reaper's mass effect fields are still active. We just passed inside their envelope." said Joker. "Eye of the hurricane, huh?"

* * *

There was no telling what they would find on-board the Reaper. At worse, it would be crawling with husks and god knows what else the Reapers where capable of creating.

"Exploring an abandoned area, expecting something mechanical and nasty to jump out at any moment..." said Garrus as they stood in the airlock readying the weapons just in case.

"Destroying it and everything else around it with superior firepower and skill, one synthetic at a time..." Tali added.

"Just like old times." Garrus chuckled.

X-5 went first to check the coast was clear. Austin, Tali and Garrus soon followed.

Cerberus it seemed had already been busy here. They set up all sorts of consoles and monitoring equipment for studying the Reaper. There were no signs of any struggle or a fight, and no bodies. So far, it simply looked deserted.

There was still a very unwelcome feeling in the air though. The familiar architecture also lined the walls. It certainly made sense to Austin now why the Geth had architecture like this, since it came from the Reapers.

Right as they went to head for the next room however, the whole place suddenly shook.

" _Normandy to shore party!"_

"What just happened?" Austin asked.

" _The Reaper put up kinetic barriers. I don't think we can get through from our side."_ Joker replied.

"As curious as I am about Reapers, I'd rather not be trapped inside one." said Tali.

"We'll have to take down the barrier generators from in here. Any idea where they are?" Austin asked.

" _At the moment of activation, I detected a heat spike in what is likely the wreck's mass effect core. Sending the coordinates now. Be advised: this core is also maintaining the Reapers altitude."_ said EDI.

"So when we take the barriers down to escape, the wreck falls into the planet core." Said Austin.

" _And that means everyone dies. Yeah, I got it." said Joker._

No one was amused by that comment, but they simply ignored it.

"If any helmsman can pull us off this thing before it reaches crush depth, it's you. We'll make a sweep for the survivors and recover what data we can. Stand by." said Austin.

" _Aye, aye. Good hunting."_

* * *

They were now met with a very unwelcome sight. They were in an open area of sorts. It had the exact same architecture as the rest of the Reaper. There were one or two corpses lying on the ground as well. A faint tapping sound could be heard as well.

"Major, do you hear something?" X-5 asked, still leading the group just in case.

"Yeah. Sounds like blood dripping." said Austin.

The Helldiver activated the lights on his armour to provide a bit more illumination. Sure enough, there were large puddles of blood all over the place. It was enough to make a non-battle hardened person lose their mind.

"Keehlah. Did the Geth do this?" said Tali.

"Keep it tight everyone. Last thing we want is getting separated in here." said Austin.

They continued on further and further into the Reaper. The deeper they went the darker and more eerie the atmosphere became.

"I don't like this, Shepard. It feels like someone's watching us." said Garrus.

"I don't there's anyone left to watch us." said Austin. So far they'd only found two bodies. There was no telling where the rest of the Cerberus team was, or the spy the Arkanes had sent.

They found another body, and Garrus seemed to notice something.

"Shepard, I don't' know if you can see this, but my suit's detecting a known ally signature." he said.

Austin knelt down and turned the body over. He rather wished he hadn't though when he saw what had happened to its face. Loads of skin had cut away, exposing the internal workings. The body itself also seemed to have what looked like signs go self-inflicted injuries and mutilation.

Tali instantly covered her visor and looked away to stop herself from being sick.

"Spirits!" said Garrus in shock.

Austin didn't say anything and simply sighed. He was used to seeing things like this, but that didn't mean it didn't affect him.

He then noticed something just under the body's uniform. He reached in and gently took it out. It was a dog tag. There was a special designation on it that only the Arkanes used. This was, or had been, the spy.

"It's him, isn't it?" Garrus asked.

Austin simply nodded and sighed.

"I knew this man once. Alpha Squad and I worked with him once to go undercover. He was a good person." he said.

The Major then noticed a data pad in one of the corpse's hands. He gently took it and played it.

 _"This will be my last entry log. I seriously doubt any of my mind will be left after this. I don't care anymore is Cerberus finds out I'm a spy; the truth needs to be known. This Reaper may be dead, but it's influence... indoctrination. Even in death, it can enslave us. Something horrible is happening to the crew. They've been building something, I don't' know what it is. But whatever it is, the crew seem to think of it as something they must do. They talk about it like it's a god or something."_ it said. _"If any Helldiver or Arkane is getting this, you must get off this ship and get as far away from it as you can before it has a chance to get into your mind. The knowledge this Reaper could provide is not worth the risk! I'm sorry I failed in my mission; my only regret is that I won't see Shepard top them. Shepard, if you're reading this... give them hell for me. Now you must get off this ship, before..."_

Before the log could continue however some sort of howling or wailing of some kind could be hard in the log. The log cut off just as there was the very faintest start of a terrified and painful scream.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"I've heard that sound before." said Austin.

"Husks." said Tali.

Austin nodded and slowly stood up.

"Keep your guard up, people. I don't think we're..."

But he was interrupted when he all the lights suddenly went off. The only illumination and hope of seeing they had now were the flashlights they had. Even that didn't help much.

"Can everyone see okay?" Austin asked, trying his best to keep his heartbeat and breathing under control. The nervousness in his voice was beginning to show.

"Only just. I can see you at least." said Garrus, also panting a bit from the nervousness.

"Okay. Let's try and get back into a lit area. We'll work or way to the core from there." said Austin.

Everyone took it very slowly. They seriously doubted that the lights going off was a malfunction. Something knew they were here.

They made sure to scan the area a few times with their flashlight beams just to make sure that something didn't suddenly jump out and lunge at them from the shadows.

"Visual scan identifies nothing, sir." said X-5.

"Turn on motion sensors, just to be safe." said Austin, still trying to keep his breathing at a calm level.

The sensors didn't pick up anything either, except for them. Austin, Garrus and X-5 made sure to add this so that they then wouldn't read each other by accident.

'Nothing. Still nothing." said Garrus.

'Something not right here. I would've thought we'd have run into Geth by now. There ship's still docked so they must be here too." said Tali.

"I agree. We should've walked into something by now." said Austin.

A loud clang suddenly echoed around the room, causing everyone to jump and nearly accidentally fire blind shots in all directions. Only when they turned to look at one another however did they see what had caused this. X-5 had accidentally smashed his head on a rather low bit of the ceiling.

"Watch were you going!" Austin groaned, slowly calming down from the shock.

"Apologies, sir." said X-5.

"Well, at least it didn't give away our position." said Garrus.

Austin nodded.

Right as the Major made the first step however, he heard a constant beeping. He slowly looked at X-5 whose motion sensor was detecting something.

"X-5?"

"Dectecting movement."

Both Tali and Garrus went on alert and held their guns up. Austin did the same and kept an eye on his sensor as well. It was starting to beep as well.

"What's the position?" Garrus asked, looking around trying to find where it was coming from.

"Unable to locate." said X-5.

"Talk to me, X-5!" said Austin urgently.

"Multiple signals! Closing in on our location." said X-5, also looking but still seeing nothing.

"I'm going to infra-red. Look sharp." Said Austin as he switched his helmet's vision mode to infra-red.

The continued looking and constantly turning to try and see what was heading in their direction. Still nothing though. Worse still, the beeping was intensifying. This was a bad time for Austin to be reminded of the events on Noveria with the Rachni. They were in the exact same situation and despite the upgrades they had, still nothing.

"Reading signals in front and behind." Said X-5le.

"Where?! I don't see a thing." Said Tali.

"She's right. There's nothing back here." Said Garrus.

Austin continued looking around. The flashlight from his rifle and the ones on his suit slowly crept down to the floor. For a moment, he was sure he'd seen something. The faintest sign of orange.

"Wait a minute." He mumbled to himself.

Very slowly and gently he lowered his gun to the floor. He was hesitant at first be he gained some of his courage back and gently pulled the trigger once.

The shot fired and simply bounced off the floor. Nothing happened, allowing Austin to breathe a sigh of relief.

No one else jumped at the shot either, as they'd predicted Austin would do that. What happened next however did.

An arm suddenly burst out of one of the grates in the floor. It fumbled around trying to desperately grab something, and it did. It latched onto Austin's leg, causing him to trip up.

More hands followed and soon the entire floor was covered with dead looking arms trying to grab onto something. It looked like a scene out of a horror movie.

A full Husk then clawed its way, rather painfully, out of the floor and looked straight at them. There was a brief pause before it roared.

X-5 and Garrus immediately started shooting while Tali tried to free Austin from some of the other Husk hands that were trying to grab onto him.

Tali quickly unsheathed her knife and tried slicing some of the Husk arms. Austin also just managed to unsheathe his own sword and desperately swung as best he could, despite the various dead looking cyborg arms trying to pin him down. The both of them were quickly covered in black Husk blood as arms were cut and severed. Blood was also splattering into Garrus and X-5 as they killed the rest. Some Husks even burst right out of the ground fully and charged only to then be ripped apart from the gunfire.

After a while, Austin finally found the grip on him to be loose enough for him to get back up. He shrugged off the rest of the husk hands and Tali helped him up. He went even madder with the slicing while Tali went back to her shotgun. This seemed to make the Husks a bit angrier and more and more started bursting out of the floors.

"This is starting to turn ugly, Shepard! There's too many of them!" said Garrus.

Austin was beginning to think Garrus was right. What the Husks lacked in skill, they made up for in numbers and ferocity.

"Fall back!" Austin ordered he swapped his sword for his Revenant again.

The group carved a way through the husks to the door they'd came in. There was another way around, so they could take that. Most of the husks had to be in here after all.

Austin gunned down one more Husk and they were able to make it through the door. Austin quickly took a charge from his belt and threw it. He then sealed the door and ordered Tali to weld it shut as best she could.

There was a shudder as the grenade exploded and some of the Husk bodies banged on the door.

"That should keep them contained for a while." Tali panted as he finished her work.

"Everyone took a long moment to catch their breath and also get over the shock.

"We always wondered if the technology to make husks came from the Reapers or the Geth." said Garrus.

"Geth origin never made sense to me. This proves it's from the Reapers." said Tali.

 

"We'd better get moving. The sooner we're off this corpse, the better." said Austin.

* * *

They took another way round and made sure this time that their presence went as unnoticed as possible.

Throughout the place where a few logs left by the Cerberus crew. As expected, they all made references and showed the symptoms of indoctrination.

Right as the cost looked clear however, two more Husks suddenly appeared. Just before they could attack however, two sniper shots suddenly killed them. They weren't the only one on this Reaper.

"I couldn't see the shooter. Whoever it was, he knows what he's doing." said Garrus.

His impressiveness with the mysterious sniper was short lived however as more Husks suddenly crawled up onto the balconies they were. Worse still, they had a scion with them. Husk after husk fell before the constant barrage of bullets, rounds and occasional plasma shots.

Austin had used to think that fighting husks was a bit like fighting zombies. It wasn't. The husks had practically nothing. They were like machines. No life, nothing at all. Zombies actually no felt like living rather than un-dead compared to these things. It wasn't pleasant to think about.

Just as it seemed the Husks were all dead however, a new one suddenly ran right at Austin. This one looked different compared to the others. While the others had blue optics, this one's were red. It also looked as though it was partly on fire.

Austin fired, but the bullets didn't slow it down. It staggered, but despite this it kept running. Austin tried to back away, but he wasn't fast enough. The husk seemed to latch onto him and then it suddenly exploded. The force sent Austin flying until he hit a wall, hard.

"Ow. Bastard." Austin groaned as the others helped him up.

"You okay?" Garrus asked.

"Only just. Feel like I just got badly burned though." said Austin, clutching a bit of his stomach that hurt the most.

"Your armour took the worst of it." said Tali.

Austin looked down to see some of the sing sand burn marks the husk had caused. He understood now that had meant to happen. Those red husks were obviously designed with the purpose of being suicide bombers. The Reapers certainly were full of bad surprises.

"You sure you're okay? We can get you back to the Normandy if..."

"I'm okay, Garrus. Seriously. Just need to get my breath back. I've had much worse than this, as you probably know." said Austin.

The room before them was large and very open. It also overlooked a deep pit with several familiar looking long spikes rising out of it. Some of them had bodies impaled on them.

"We've seen these before, Austin. Dragon's teeth you're people called them. The Terror Geth and his army used them on Eden Prime." said Tali.

Austin took a moment to examine the room a bit more. There was something about how it was arranged.

"See how the room is arranged? They worshipped this thing like some kind of altar." he said.

"That doesn't seem right. No one in their right mind would want this." said Tali.

"You heard the logs. They were seeing things. Hearing things. They were being indoctrinated." said Austin "We can't help these people now. But we won't let the machines use their corpses like this."

* * *

With the next bit, they finally seemed to be outside. They could see the storm still happening in the planet's atmosphere.

"Keep an eye out for..."

But Austin was suddenly interrupted when two more husks suddenly appeared behind him. Once again though, sniper shots hit either one of them.

"What the… Who fired those shots?!" he said.

"Shepard, look!"

Austin looked in the direction that Garrus was pointing. What he saw left him almost speechless. Standing on a high platform... was a Geth. When Austin also saw the flaps on its face move, he nearly went pale.

"It can't be…" he said in shock. However, as the Geth came fully into view, his opinion changed. "Wait a minute, that's not the Terror Geth."

The Geth was a more normal human size, like the drones. It had what looked like an antenna on its back, a rather large hole in its chest and what surprisingly looked like a N7 chest piece and shoulder plate welded to it. To everyone's amazement, the Geth then spoke.

"Shepard-Commander?"

So far, the Terror Geth had been the only Geth known to speak, up till now. The voice of this one was different. It wasn't as deep or menacing, in a way it sounded more... human.

The Geth simply picked up its sniper rifle and continued on.

"The sniper was a Geth. Since when do Geth talk to organics?" Garrus commented.

"The Terror Geth did." Austin meant.

"True, I meant a normal one." said Garrus.

"It shouldn't be able to talk. A single Geth has no more intelligence than a Varren. Only the Terror Geth was an exception." said Tali.

They were interrupted however by the arrival of more Husks.

It took them an agonisingly long time to fight through them all. Austin had feeling he knew what had happened to the Cerberus team now. They'd obviously become indoctrinated by the Reapers influence and it had eventually made them convert themselves into Husks.

Finally, they reached the room that they assumed would lead them to the Reaper's mass effect core. Just outside, Austin found a small device. His suit identified it as the very thing they'd come here to acquire, the IFF.

"This is the IFF? It's smaller than I imagined." said Garrus as Austin stored it in a safe compartment in his suit.

"So the Cerberus team did recover it..." said Tali. "...At the cost of their own lives."

The door to the core opened and they could see the blue sphere. The Geth they'd seen earlier was also there trying to access a nearby control panel. The group's path was blocked by a barrier. No doubt this Geth was probably trying to deactivate it.

Some more husks slowly made their way towards it. The Geth pulled out a pistol and shot some of them down before then returning to the control panel. The barrier finally seemed to unlock. Just as the Geth turned back to the Husks however, one of them struck it down.

The Husks then turned their attention to the group. Another vicious fight followed as Husk after Husk crawled onto the balcony to fight them.

As it looked as though they were about to be overrun, Austin noticed the Reaper mass effect core. If that was destroyed, they might have a chance since the Reaper would be falling out of orbit. While the others continued concentrating on the Husks, he opened fire. The first grenade from his grenade launcher attachment flew a little over the core, causing little damage. The Helldiver major lowered his weapon, narrowing the angle. The next few grenades exploded right upon reaching the core, causing a massive detonation that nearly through everyone off their feet.

The Husks seemed to stop coming after that and the whole place started shaking constantly. It was very hard now to maintain balance.

"Shepard, want something done with that Geth? It's still intact." Garrus asked as they walked up to the still inactive but still intact Geth which had helped them earlier.

"Leave it there. You know what they are. If it gets into Normandy's computers…" said Tali.

"You said so yourself, no one's ever found one intact." said Austin.

"That's true, but I'm not sure it's worth the risk, Austin." said Tali.

At that moment however, more Husks appeared. They didn't have time to decide on this.

"There's no time to debate it, Tali. Come on!" said Austin.

He and Garrus picked up the Geth, slinging an arm over each of their shoulders. Tali and X-5 provided cover fire.

* * *

" _Hang on, folks."_ Said Joker as the Normandy was finally able to break free.

"Open the portside area." Said Austin as he and Garrus carried the Geth to the point where they could throw it into the Normandy.

" _Aye, aye."_ Joker replied.

X-5 and Tali continued firing at any more Husks that followed them. Garrus and Austin threw the Geth into the Normandy's doors first using the lack of gravity to propel it.

Next Tali jumped, followed shortly by Garrus. X-5 jumped next as well, despite jumping maybe a bit too much, being propelled to fast and banging his head very hard on the door.

Austin followed lastly, firing at more Husks as he jumped.

"Fun party, but I should go." He sniggered.

He landed alongside the others safely and fired one final shot which hit another Husk.

"We're clear. Go!" he said.

The doors closed and the Normandy sped away from the planet.

* * *

Austin, Miranda, Jacob and Alaara had all gathered in the comm room. They needed to decide what to do with the Geth.

"I think we need to discuss the unique piece of Salvage we recovered. For now, we've stored it in EDI's AI core. We need better equipment to fight the Reapers. An intact Geth would invaluable to your Arkane's cyber weapons division." said Miranda.

"She does have a point there, Shepard." Said Alaara.

"We'll have to disagree on that, ma'am. I saw enough of these things on Eden Prime. Space it" said Jacob.

"The Arkanes have a long-standing cash bounty for an intact Geth. I assure you, the reward would be significant." said Miranda.

"I've killed hundreds of these things, but I've never had a chance to talk to one, apart from the Terror Geth. This one tried to commutate with us in a non-violent way. Hell, it probably saved our lives. Why?" said Austin.

"Reactivating the Geth is a risk. If you do so, it should be for all our best interests." said Miranda.

"Have I ever given you reason not to trust me?" Austin asked.

"I meant no disrespect, Shepard. I was just saying..." said Miranda.

"I still think our "best interests" involve an airlock." Jacob interrupted.

"I want to know why it has a piece of N7 armour strapped to its chest." said Austin.

"Battle trophy, maybe? Would a machine care about that?" asked Jacob.

"No. Trophies imply emotions that AIs don't have. I doubt it's more than a convenient field repair." said Miranda.

"I'm not deciding one way or the other until I know what we've got here. I want to start it up and interrogate It." said Austin.

"What?! No disrespect, Shepard. But are you crazy?!" said Alaara, almost in shock at what her commanding officer had just said.

"Alaara's right. If we activate it, there's no guarantee we can deactivate it again." said Miranda.

"Bullets can." said Jacob.

"That's not what I…"

"Thank you – all of you – for your recommendations. I've made my decision." said Austin.

"Tali's going to freak when she hears about this." Jacob sighed.

Knowing that he couldn't change the Major's mind, he pressed a few buttons on his omni tool. The hologram of the Geth was replaced by a hologram of the Reaper IFF.

"Not to mention that Leena's gonna kill you." Said Alaara. "She doesn't like Geth anymore than Tali does."

"So what about this Reaper IFF?" Jacob asked.

 _"I have determined how to integrate it with our systems. However, the device is Reaper technology. Linking it with the Normandy's systems poses certain risks."_ said EDI.

"I trust you, EDI. I know you won't let anything happen to the ship." said Austin reassuringly.

 _"Understood, Shepard. It may take several hours before the IFF is ready for shakedown. I will alert you as soon as it is ready."_ said EDI.

"Sounds good. Until then, it's business as usual. Dismissed."

* * *

Austin headed down to the AI core to reactivate the Geth. He'd kept his armour on for this just to be on the safe side. When he entered, he was surprised to see both Leena and Tali stood in front of the inactive Geth, cross armed.

"For once, Austin… I had hoped you were joking." Said Tali.

"You're going to reactivate this thing?" Leena asked.

Austin nodded.

"Did he hit his head during one of the fights?" Leena asked at Tali.

"This isn't like the other Geth we've encountered. Something's different about it." Said Austin.

"I know you wouldn't' make this choice likely, Austin. I still trust you. But I just want to be sure that you know what you're doing." Said Tali.

"I'm taking the necessary precautions, Tali. As is EDI." Said Austin.

Sure enough, a blue shield of sorts appeared around where the Geth was currently lying.

 _"I have isolated our systems and erected additional firewalls. I am prepared to resist any hacking attempt."_ said EDI.

"Okay. I guess we can't' change your mind." Leena sighed.

Austin walked up to the Geth and activated his omni tool. Thanks to Leena and Tali's knowledge on the Geth and also from Geth bodies recovered from the Citadel, he was confident he could start up it up again.

The first surge of energy simply made the Geth twitch slightly, but the second seemed to kick it into life. There were several whirs and chirps as the Geth slowly sat up and got off the table. It looked right at Austin.

"Can you understand me?" Austin asked.

"Yes." replied the Geth.

"Are you going to attack us?" Leena asked.

"No."

"You said my name aboard the Reaper. Have we met?" Austin asked.

"We know of you."

"You mean I've fought a lot of Geth and killed your leader."

"We have never met."

"No, you and I haven't. But I've met other Geth."

"We are all Geth, and we have not met you." "You are Shepard. Commander…"

"Major, actually." Austin interrupted He could see that had been a bit rude however. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. It's just that I haven't been a Commander for 3 years now."

"It is we who should apologise. Our logs on you must be out of date." said the Geth.

"Anyway, you were saying…"

"You are Shepard. Major. Helldivers. Human. Fought heretics. Falsely assumed killed by Collectors. Rediscovered on the Old Machine."

"Old machine?" You mean the Reaper?" Austin asked.

"Reaper. A superstitious title originating with the Protheans. We call those entities the Old Machines." said the Geth.

"You seem to know an awful lot about me."

"Despite the secrecy of your return, there are plenty of sources. Extranet data. Insecure broadcasts. All organic data sent out is received. We watch you."

"You watch me, or you watch organics?"

"Yes."

"Which?"

"Both."

"You mentioned "heretics". What did you mean by that?" Tali asked.

"Geth build our own future. The heretics asked the Old Machines to give them the future. They are no longer part of us. We were studying the Old Machine's hardware to protect our future." the Geth replied.

"Are the Reapers a threat to you too?" Austin asked.

"Yes."

"Why would they attack other machines?"

"We are different from them. Outside their plans."

"What future are the Geth building?" Leena asked.

"Ours."

"Will anyone else be affected by whatever it is you're doing?" Austin asked.

"If they involve themselves, they will."

"So you aren't allied with the Reapers?"

"We oppose the heretics. We oppose the Old Machines. Shepard-Major opposes the Old Machines. Shepard-Major opposes the heretics. Cooperation furthers mutual goals."

"Are you asking to join us?" Austin asked in surprise.

"Yes."

"I don't like this." Said Leena suspiciously.

"The enemy of our enemy is our friend, Leena." said Austin. He then turned back to the Geth and deactivated the force field. "What should we call you then?"

"Geth."

"I mean you. Specifically."

"We are all Geth."

"What is the individual in front of me called?"

"There is no individual. We are Geth. There are currently 1,183 programs active within this platform.

"Don't you have a designation or something like that?"

EDI then suddenly appeared and recited a phrase from the bible.

 _"My name is Legion, for we are many."_ she said.

Austin considered that for a moment. For some reason that seemed to fit.

"Hmm, not a bad idea, EDI. That seems appropriate." said Austin.

The Geth remained silent for a minute, before finally replying.

"Christian Bible, the Gospel of Mark, chapter five, verse nine. We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion, a terminal of the Geth. We will integrate into Normandy."

Austin put his hand out to shake Legion's, but the Geth didn't seem to understand the gesture. Eventually, Legion di the same and Austin finally shook his hand. "We anticipate the exchange of data."

Austin turned to the two Quarians. They still looked suspicious of legion, but convinced he wasn't a threat now.

"Okay. We'll cooperate for now. But if he shows any sign of turning on us… well, I think you know." said Leena.

They both left, leaving just Legion and Austin on their own.

"I'm sorry about that." he apologized.

"We understand the creators distrust towards us. We do not blame them for it." said Legion.

"I have questions about the Geth."

"Specify."

"We need every advantage if this mission is going to succeed. Is there any technology the Geth can share with us?"

"Limited co-development is approved. We need to access your FTL comm systems to download relevant data."

"EDI, let Legion through the firewalls for a minute."

 _"Very well, Shepard."_ said EDI.

Legion had the designs for a special sniper rifle designed especially for him to use which Austin approved. Other than that, there wasn't much else.

Still a bit curious though, Austin decided to ask Legion some more questions.

"So did Sovereign contact the heretics, or did you seek it out?" Austin asked.

"Sovereign signalled us. Like the Geth, the Old Machines listened to organic radio transmissions. It knew of our war against the creators." Said Legion.

"So those that followed Sovereign, became the heretics, as you call them?" Austin asked.

"The heretics accepted Reaper technology. In return, many heretics volunteered themselves to become the Reaper Nazara." Said Legion.

"Who?"

"Nazara. A Geth-Reaper built by Sovereign from hundreds of heretics who willingly sacrificed themselves. Sovereign however lacked the proper components to properly construct a full size Reaper." Legion explained.

"So how does Nazara exist without a Reaper body?" Austin asked.

"It exists in the body of a Geth. Nazara is like a god walking amongst mortals in the eyes of the heretics." Legion explained further.

"You speak of Nazara as though it's still alive." Said Austin.

"We do not know. It was never seen during the battle of the Citadel, and we personally have never seen Nazara in person. As far as we know, it is still somewhere out there commanding the heretics as their true leader." Said Legion.

"I've just remembered something I wanted to ask you. When we took you aboard, I noticed you have an N7 chest piece and shoulder plate welded to you. Where did you get it?" Austin asked.

Legion remained silent for a minute as he looked at the two pieces welded to him.

"It was yours. When you disappeared, we were sent to find you. We began where you first encountered the heretics and Nazara's agent, the one you called the Terror Geth." He said.

"Eden Prime."

"After their attack, it was heavily defended. We were discovered. This is the impact of a rifle shot." Said Legion, indicating the large hole in his chest.

"You've been looking for me for two years?"

"We visited Therum. Feros. Noveria. Virmire. Ilos. A dozen unsettled worlds. The trail ended at Normandy's wreckage. You were not there. Organic transmissions claimed your death. We recovered this debris from parts that had broken off of your Helldiver armour when you entered the atmosphere." Legion explained.

"Why were you trying to contact me?" Austin asked.

"You oppose the heretics. Those that took the Old Machines as gods." Legion replied.

"All kinds of organics fought Sovereign and his Geth allies. Why am I so interesting?" Austin asked.

"You were the most successful. You killed their god, and his lieutenant. You succeeded where the others did not. Your code is superior." Legion replied.

"That doesn't explain why you used my armour to fix yourself." Said Austin.

"There was a hole." Legion simply replied.

"But why didn't you fix it sooner? Or with something else?" Austin asked.

Legion seemed almost lost for something to say at this. There was a very long pause.

"No data available." He eventually replied.

* * *

**There you have it!**

**As you can probably tell, the next mission is Tali's. And actually that is one of my favourite missions (apart probably from LOTSB) and I've already load of great plans for that one. Plenty of extra dialogue to include with not just Legion, but with Leena as well. The mission will also delve into her past a bit more as we meet her mother. I'll bet you can't guess who it'll be.**

**Keep up those reviews! I know this one probably isn't my best, but still.**


	35. Chapter 35, It's Treason then

**Well! That was unexpected. Such a long chapter and I managed to get it done in just four days.**

**I'm very impressed with that!**

**Hope you enjoy this one. I've had a lot of the dialogue changes thought out for a while, so I'm pleased to finally be able to write them down at last.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 35**

**It's Treason then**

Austin was a bit concerned that Tali needed something taken care of as well now. It wasn't usually like her.

"Austin. I'm glad you came by. I may need your help." said the Quarian. "I just received a message from the Migrant Fleet. The Admiralty Board has accused me of treason. I'm scared, Austin."

"Nobody who knows you could believe you'd betray your people, Tali." said Austin defensively.

"I don't know. They don't lay charges like this unless the evidence seems absolute. But thanks. I appreciate your faith in me, Austin." said Tali, smiling under her helmet.

"Have they said why it is you've been charged? It couldn't be because you're working with me, could it? I thought the Admiralty Board approved of you to be transferred here." Austin asked.

"Exactly. And no, they didn't say. I have no idea what they're accusing me of. You'd think I would remember if I'd betrayed the Fleet!" Tali replied.

"What happens when a Quarian is accused of treason? Unfortunately, that's not a Quarian tradition I'm familiar with." Austin inquired.

"There's a hearing, with members of the Admiralty Board acting as judges. My father is an admiral on the board. He'll have to recuse himself from judgement. I can't even imagine what he's thinking right now. The punishment for treason is exile. If they convict me, I can never go back." Tali explained.

"So you have no idea why they're accusing you?"

"None. The specifics of charges like this are rarely discussed on open channels. I won't know any more until I get to the flotilla."

"What happens if you're convicted?"

"Like I said, exile. The specifics are up to the judges. If it's deemed only a tragic mistake in judgement, the guilty party might receive a small ship and supplies. Not that it really matters. Either way, if I'm convicted, I'll never see the Migrant Fleet again."

"So no prison, and no death penalty?"

"We don't have the spare resources for long-term incarceration. Monitored work detail is more effective. And we don't have enough people to afford executions. An exile can still have children, and those children are welcomed back to the fleet."

"How often is someone from the Fleet charged with treason?"

"It's rare. I must be something that affects the entire flotilla, not just one ship. The most recent one was Anora Vanya vas Selani, an engineer who handed over Fleet defence schematics to the Batarians. She had good intentions. The Batarians were contracted to upgrade our systems. But they passed the defence schematics to a pirate gang."

"Was she convicted?"

"No. She made a suicide run on the pirate gang. She destroyed them before they could attack the Fleet. She was pardoned… posthumously. Let's hope I don't have to prove my innocence that way."

"So how does the trial work? How soon do we need to get you there?"

"They'll wait a reasonable period of time for me to come and defend myself. Eventually, if I don't show up, they'll try me in absentia. As for how it works… it's less formal than an Earth trial, or something you'd see on the Citadel. We're family. This is just the worst kind of family meeting."

It was an easy choice for Austin. Sure their mission took priority, but Tali was his friend. Everyone needed to be focused on the mission, and if it was possible he could indeed make that happen, he'd do it.

"Well then, we'd better find the flotilla." he said.

Tali looked momentarily surprised by this. She had not expected Austin to help her completely.

"I was going to book passage on another ship. I didn't think there would be time for you to help. Thank you, Austin." she said gratefully. "I'll program the Normandy with the flotilla's current location. The Admirals will be waiting for us."

* * *

The huge fleet could be seen out of the Normandy's windows. It was quite a sight seeing all those ships. It reminded Austin so much of the Helldiver fleet back home on Arkadia.

"This is Tali Zorah vas Neema nar Rayya requesting permission to dock with the Rayya." said Tali.

 _"Our system has your ship flagged as Helldiver. Please confirm your identity for safety."_ said the traffic controller.

"After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and through shoals of dust, I will return to where I began." said Tali.

_"Permission granted. Welcome home, Tali Zorah."_

"We'd like a security and quarantine team to meet us. Our ship is not clean."

_"Understood. Approach exterior docking cradle 17."_

* * *

Both Tali and Leena were very nervous with Austin's choice of the third squad mate, Legion.

"I don't think it's a good idea to bring a Ge…"

Tali was instantly interrupted when guards immediately pointed their guns right at Legion. Austin was able to push past one of them until he could see their leader, Captain Kar Danna, captain of the Rayya.

"Get that damn thing off my ship before you start an incident that makes the ascension project fiasco with Cerberus look a slow day on garbage detail!" the Captain yelled.

"Look, we're not here to cause problems. This Geth's on our side." said Austin, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Helldivers may be welcome here, but the Geth is too much. Leave it on your ship." said Kar.

"This is your ship and I'm and guest, but Legion is part of my team. Unless you want to shoot me, we're both coming aboard." said Austin.

"Or I could kick you both off." said Kar.

"Your seriously going to do that, Captain Kar Danna?" said Leena as she stepped into view.

Some of the guards stepped back slightly and seemed to murmur to each other. Leena was well known among the Quarians due to her being one of very few Quarian Helldivers.

"Leena vas Penthra. I honestly did not expect to see you here again." said Kar in surprise.

"You know me, Captain. If this Geth gets out of line, I'll kill it myself." said Leena.

"As Tali and Leena's captain I'll also take responsibility for what happens." said Austin.

Kar Danna seemed hesitant for a moment, but finally seemed to see that he was in the minority here.

"Very well. Stand down." he ordered.

The guards did as they were told and stood down.

"I must say though, it is an honour to finally meet you in person, Captain Shepard. Tali told me a lot about you. I wish we could be meeting under more pleasant circumstances." said Kar.

"Actually it's Major now. Technically, I'm also not really a ship captain. I'm a marine." said Austin

"Nevertheless, you're the commander of the Normandy, responsible for the lives aboard it. That entitles you to respect among our people. May you stand between your crew and harm as you lead them through the empty quarters of the stars." said Kar.

"Keelah se'lai. It's an old ship Captain's blessing, Austin." said Tali.

"Thank you. Tali helped the Normandy's crew out of many difficult situations. I'm here to return the favour." said Austin.

"I understand. As the Commander of the vessel she serves on, your voice carries weight. I wish I could do more to help, Tali. The trial requires that I be officially neutral, but… I'm here, if you need to talk." said Kar.

"So what exactly is she charged with?" Austin asked.

"They're charging her with bringing active Geth into the Fleet as part of a secret project." Kar replied.

"That's insane! I never brought active Geth aboard. I only sent parts and pieces." Tali objected.

"You sent Geth materials back to the Migrant Fleet?!" Leena asked, almost in shock.

"Yes. My father was working on a project. He needed the materials. If I sent back something that was only damaged, not permanently inactive… No. No, I checked everything. I was careful." said Tali.

"Technically, I'm under orders to place Tali Zorah under arrest ending the hearing. So, Tali… you're confined to this ship until this trial is over." said Kar.

"Thank you, Captain."

"Preparations got underway as soon as you arrived. The hearing's being held in the garden plaza. Good luck."

The ship's interior seemed to look rather like that of a cargo ship. Although to be fair, that's probably what these ships used to be.

Austin had never seen this many Quarians in one place before. It was quite a sight.

As the group headed towards the plaza, they saw a female Quarian standing there, looking like she was waiting for them.

"Tali Zorah. I am glad you came. I could delay them only so long." she said.

Tali walked up to the Quarian and hugged her.

"Auntie Raan!" she said. "Austin, this Admiral Shala Raan vas Tonbay. She's a friend of my father's."

Leena then stepped forward. Austin had a feeling he was imagining it, but Leena's body language almost seemed to give the impression that she was struggling to think of what to say.

"Do I know you? Shala asked.

"Hello, Mother."

Shala looked shocked by this.

"Leena?!"

Both Quarians walked up to one another and hugged tightly. Shala almost had to stand on her toes due to Leena's Helldiver armour making her much taller than a normal Quarian.

"I thought I'd never see you again. It's been so long. Look at you, all grown up." said Shala, almost in happy tears at seeing the daughter she hadn't seen since she went away on her pilgrimage.

Austin was left almost speechless. He'd never seen Leena this emotional before. She was always hard core and tough. It never would've occurred to him that the tough as nails Quarian Helldiver would ever have a soft spot. Even today, after 10 years, he was still finding out new things about his squad.

"I'm sorry I never came back. I just…" Leena struggled to say. But Shala stopped her.

"It's okay, sweetheart. You had a duty as a Helldiver. I can respect that. Besides, your name is well known among our people. I'm very proud of you." said the older Quarian proudly.

The two Quarians touched helmets for a moment before finally parting and Leena went back to standing next to Austin.

"Mother?" he asked.

"I never told you my full name. It's Leena Raan vas Penthra. I guess I just sort of stopped using my family name when I left the fleet to become a Helldiver." Leena explained.

"Well, in that case, it's an honor to meet you, Admiral. I've had the privilege of working and fighting alongside your daughter for over 10 years. She's a fine warrior." said Austin, bowing his head in acknowledgement of the mother of one of his squad mates.

"I'm honoured to meet you too, Major Shepard. Tali vas Normandy told me so much about you." said Shala.

"Wait. Raan, you called me "vas Normandy." said Tali.

"I'm afraid I did, Tali. The Admiralty Board moved to have you tried under that name given your departure from the Neema." Shala explained.

"Being associated with a Helldiver ship is a bad sign?" Austin asked.

"They stripped me of my ship name. That's as good as declaring me exiled already." said Tali.

"It's not over yet, Tali. You have friends who still know you as Tali Zorah vas Neema… whatever we must call you legally." said Shala comfortingly.

"You're an admiral. Does that mean you're one of the judges?" Austin asked.

"I'm afraid not. My history with Tali and her father forced me to recuse myself." said Shala.

"I imagine Father had to do the same." said Tali.

"You'll see inside, Tali. For my part, I moderate and ensure that the rules of protocol are followed, but I have no vote in the judgement."

"I guess we should get started. Does Tali have a defence counsellor, someone who speaks for her side?" Austin asked.

"Indeed she does… Major Shepard. She is part of your crew, now, recognized by Quarian law. And remember, an accused is always represented by his or her ship's captain." said Shala.

"So, er… you would actually speak for my defence." said Tali.

Austin hadn't expected this. He'd thought that Tali's real Captain would stand in her defence, not him. Nevertheless, Tali was his friend and he'd do all he could to help her. It never even crossed his mind of saying no.

"I'll do everything within my power to help you, Tali." he said reassuringly.

"As will I as your shipmate and friend." Said Leena.

"Thank you, both of you. I could not ask for better friends." said Tali gratefully.

"Our legal rules are simple. There are no legal tricks or political loopholes for you to worry about. Present the truth as best you can. It will have to be enough. Now come. I promised that I would not delay you." said Shala.

All the other Quarians either stood out sat down for the hearing. Three Admirals were affiliating as judges and Shala stood above them. As she had said, she simply made sure that it went appropriately, she had little say in the matters.

Despite what he had said, Austin had to admit he was a bit nervous. He'd never done this sort of thing, even with non Quarians. Leena's presence helped to ease the tension a bit, but only a little. Austin could only hope that his persuasive skills were up to scratch. He was no diplomat, but he'd always managed to find a way to sort things like this out.

"This conclave is brought to order. Blessed are the ancestors who kept us alive, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this season. Keelah se'lai." said Shala.

 _"Keelah se'lai."_ the crowd repeated.

"The accused, Tali Zorah vas Normandy, has come with her captain to defend herself against the charge of treason." said Shala.

The three Admirals each had different suit colours which would at least make them easy to tell apart. There were two males, and one female. The female had a black suit, the middle male had a white and red one, and the last one on the right was completely white.

Austin managed to use his suit's database to identify them all. The female was Admiral Daro Xen vas Moreh, the red Admiral Zaal Koris vas Qwib Qwib (a somewhat strange ship name) and the white one Admiral Han Gerrel vas Neema, most likely the captain of the ship Tali had served on before being assigned to the Normandy.

"Security, a Geth is present in the court room. Does Tali Zorah think to affect this hearing with threats?!" said Zaal Koris as he pointed legion out to the crowd, causing some of them to gasp.

"Captain Danna allowed the Geth aboard. Do you intend to second guess the Rayya's captain, Admiral Koris?!" Shala retorted.

"Objection withdrawn."

"Shepard vas Normandy, your crew member Tali Zorah stands accused of treason. Will you speak for her?" said Shala.

Austin took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"If it helps Tali, I will." he said.

"I too stand in Tali's defence as her ship mate and friend." said Leena as she stepped forward to stand next to her squad commander "In all fairness though, we shouldn't' have to. When Tali helped stop Saren and his Geth army, her actions spoke for themselves. Without her help, none of you would be alive to put her on trial today."

"Well said, Leena Raan. None of us should forget Tali's contributions to the Fleet." said Han Gerrel.

"I also regret that her captain is forbidden to stand at her side today." said Austin defensively.

Zaal Koris seemed to object to this.

"Nobody has been forbidden from anything! It is a simple-"

"Lie to them if you must, Zaal Koris, but don't lie to me and expect me to stay silent! The Helldiver is right!" Han Gerrel interrupted.

"Admirals, please. Shepard's willingness to represent Tali Zorah in this hearing is appreciated." said Shala, quickly diffusing the situation before it turned into an argument. "Tali, you are accused of bringing active Geth to the Migrant Fleet. What say you?"

"Tali would never endanger the Migrant Fleet. She pleads not guilty." Said Leena.

"Besides, how could Tali have brought Geth to the fleet while serving on the Normandy?" said Austin.

Admiral Xen, who had so far remained silent, finally spoke.

"To clarify, Shepard, Tali isn't accused of bringing back entire units – only parts that could spontaneously reactivate." she explained.

"But I would never send active Geth to the Fleet! Everything I sent was disabled and harmless!" said Tali defensively. Austin couldn't help but notice however that she was twiddling her fingers nervously. She often did that when nervous.

"Then explain how Geth seized the lab ship where your father was working!" Zaal Koris retorted.

The crowd murmured to one another, which only confused Tali even more.

"What are you talking about? What happened?" she asked.

"As far as we can tell, Tali, the Geth have killed everyone on the Alarei… your father included." said Han Gerrel.

"What? Oh, Keelah…"

"I thought we valued family! How do you justify springing this on Tali in the middle of a damn trial?!" Leena shouted in anger.

Austin had to admit that Leena frightened him sometimes. In all the time he'd worked with her, he'd never seen her shout like that before. Nor had he seen her this angry. She obviously cared a lot for Tali.

"Our apologies. Tali should have been informed." said Shala.

"I appreciate the need for this trial, Admirals, but right now our first concern must be the safety of the Migrant Fleet. We stand ready to assist in whatever capacity necessary." said Austin.

"Thank you. Quarian strike teams have attempted to retake the ship, so far without success." said Shala.

"Austin, we have to take back the Alarei!" said Tali.

"The safest course would be to simply destroy the ship. But if you are looking for an honourable death instead of exile…" said Zaal Koris.

"I'm looking for my father, you bosh'tet!" Tali yelled.

"You intend to retake the Alarei from the Geth? This proposal is extremely dangerous." said Shala.

"With your permission, Admirals, yes. The good of the Fleet must come first… and Tali needs to find her father." said Austin.

"Agreed. And if you die on this worthy mission, Tali, we will see that your name is cleared of these charges." said Han Gerrel.

"We can discuss that later." said Zaal Koris.

"You think Tali is helping the Geth? Maybe killing a few dozen will prove her loyalty!" said Leena.

"We do not accuse Tali of aiding the Geth cause. We accuse her of carelessness that endangered the Fleet. Zaal Koris retorted.

"Then it is decided. You will attempt to retake the Alarei. You are hereby given leave to depart the Rayya. A shuttle will be waiting at the secondary docking hangar. Be safe, Tali. This hearing will resume upon your return, or upon determination that you have been killed in action." said Shala.

* * *

"Thank you for agreeing to take back the Alarei, Austin. The admirals sound sure that my father is already dead, but... I don't know. We won't know anything until we get there. I don't know. We won't know anything until we get there." said Tali.

"How are you holding up? They just threw a lot of fire at you, even before telling you about your father." Leena asked as she put her hand on Tali's shoulder.

"I knew this would be bad, but I guess you're never really prepared to be charged with treason. And my father… I don't know. He could still be alive. They don't know for certain that he's dead. I just don't know, Austin. And I need to find out." said Tali.

"Is there anyone here you want to talk to before we go?" Austin asked.

"We can talk with the Admirals. It might help us to see what their viewpoints are. But I doubt we'll change anyone's mind by talking to them privately." said Tali.

"Let's go."

"Right. The sooner we get to the Alarei, the sooner we'll know what happened."

" _Shepard, the secondary docking hangar is through the Conclave chamber where you are now. The shuttle they have provided is unarmed."_ said EDI.

"Understood."

" _Whatever Geth are on the Alarei have likely built more of themselves. Expect heavy resistance."_

Shala was the first one that Tali wanted to talk with. She wanted to know why she had not been told that her father might be dead.

"You set me up, Shala! You told Captain Danna not to say anything?! I don't hear that my father may be dead until I'm in the trial?! Why?" she shouted.

"The admirals needed to hear the shock in your voice, Tali. Otherwise they might not have let you try to retake the Alarei. That is your best chance at recovering evidence that can exonerate you. I'm sorry. We cannot afford sensitivity, Tali." said Shala calmly.

"I know you're trying to help her, mother. But that was over the line." said Leena, somewhat surprised that her mother would do something like that.

"She has nobody else to speak for her, Leena. I'm doing everything in my power. That's what her father would have wanted." said Shala defensively.

"Don't say it like that! He could still be alive on that ship!" said Tali.

"You should get to the Alarei soon. Is there anything else I can tell you?"

"What can you tell us about the Alarei?" Austin inquired.

"Not much, I'm afraid. Rael Zorah only said that he was researching new defence technology." said Shala.

"He told me only that he needed any Geth parts or pieces I found. I assumed he was testing weapons on Geth components." Tali explained.

"We knew nothing until the Alarei sent a distress signal, then went dead. We didn't even know about the Geth until a boarding team was attacked." said Shala.

"You're saying there's no data about the inside of the ship?" Austin asked.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. The marines who survived and escaped saw bodies in the halls. We must assume the worst." said Shala with regret.

"No. We don't." said Tali.

"How long have you known Tali's family?" Austin asked.

"Since before Rael was an Admiral. 25 or 30 years, I'd guess. I was there when Tali was born. Her mother and I had synched up our suits so we could be in the same open-air room. I was sick for a week, but it was worth it. I was the one who took Tali from her mother and put her in the bubble. She cried so hard." said Shala, her tone of voice giving indications of happiness as she remembered Tali as a young baby.

"I don't understand. You put your children in bubbles?" Austin asked.

"Environmental units. It's a step between relying on the mother's immune system through nursing and getting a suit of one's own." Shala explained.

"The bubbles let parents take their children out of the clean rooms safely. We don't wear suits until adolescence." said Leena.

"There's a celebration when a child gets her first suit. It's a coming of age." said Shala.

"I'm not hearing much about Rael's involvement in Tali's life." said Austin.

"It's difficult to explain. I shouldn't..." said Shala hesitantly.

"It's all right, Aunt Shala. No secrets between shipmates. I think I told Austin about my father." said Tali reassuringly.

"If you say so. Rael was... committed to the Quarian cause. That didn't leave him a lot of time for his family." said Shala. "He wanted to give Tali and her mother the homeworld... or a strong Fleet, at least. That was how he showed his love."

"What kind of evidence will carry weight with the Admirals?" Leena asked.

"Tali, you admitted to sending Geth parts to your father for his project." said Shala.

"Yes. But never anything that could have come back online on its own. I took every possible precaution!" said Tali.

"Then find records of your shipments and the experiments. Something that proves you were careful. Something that proves this is all just a terrible accident that nobody could have foreseen." said Shala.

"There seemed to be some other arguments going on among the Admirals." said Austin.

"You caught that. Yes, the Geth presence makes this a touchy issue. The Admiralty Board is trying to determine whether to focus on colonial development... or attempt to retake the homeworld." said Shala.

"You're thinking of war? With the Geth?" Tali asked in shock.

"I'm not, Tali. But others are." said Shala.

"The Geth situation isn't as simple as you think. Not all of them worship the Reaper Nazara." said Austin.

"I don't think the other admirals would care about that. They want the homeworld back, and they want all Geth destroyed." said Shala.

"Shala, don't you want to see us retake the homeworld?" said Tali.

"I don't think we can, Tali. But it may not be about what I think." said Shala.

"I know the Migrant Fleet is formidable, but even you can't' take on the Geth." said Austin.

"We grow tired of wandering the stars, Shepard. We want our world back. We have paid enough for our mistake. I'm not giving you my opinion. I'm telling you which way the wind is blowing." said Shala.

Austin decided that they'd talked enough. There were other Admirals they'd need to talk to and it would be best to do it quickly.

"We should move on." he said.

"Good luck on the Alarei." said Shala.

The next Admiral they spoke to was Han Gerrel. He seemed to be on their side in this trial, so it would be a good idea to speak with him.

"Tali! I'm glad Admiral Raan got you leave to hit the Alarei. Hopefully you'll find something that clears your name." said the Admiral.

"I'm more concerned with finding my father, Admiral." said Tali.

"I wish you luck. Blow up some Geth on the way." said Gerrel. He then turned to Austin. "And you're Major Shepard? Admiral Han Gerrel vas Neema. You've got Admiral Koris backing up worse than a Krogan toilet. I'm glad Tali's captain knows how to handle a court room. And Leena, watching you rail away at Koris like that… Tali's in good hands."

"I get the sense you're inclined to believe the defence. I'm glad one of the judges is." said Leena.

"If you were only giving Rael inactive equipment for weapons tests, I've got no problem. We need to test weapons against Geth material. I know you and your father. You put too much of yourselves into this fleet to do anything to jeopardize our safety. And you're both smart enough not to make mistakes like the ones they're saying you made." said Gerrel to Tali.

"Can you tell me anything about the Alarei?" Austin asked.

"Nothing good. We sent some of our best marines into that hellhole. Damn few made it back. Whatever Rael was doing, it blew up in his face. The ship is crawling with Geth. Don't go in expecting survivors." said Gerrel.

"Admiral! My father – your friend – is on that ship!" Tali retorted.

"I know that, Tali. But if Shala hadn't suggested you might volunteer, we'd already have destroyed the Alarei. That's where we stand." said Gerrel.

"You and Tali's father go back a long way?" Austin asked.

"We served together on the gunship Yaska during a bad Batarian raid. We were kids, serving pre-pilgrimage as trainees. A crew of ten, and six were dead. Kinetic barriers were down. Rael and I were alone on the bridge and the Batarians had drawn off a tramp freighter." said Gerrel.

"Did you save the freighter?" Austin asked.

"Our ship was under orders to hold position, but Rael looked at me and said "We're underage. They can't charge us for breaking formation." He took the helm, I took weapons, and we brought that freighter back. The crew called us heroes. Brass called us idiots. They slapped medals on our suits and kicked us off to pilgrimage a bit earlier than expected. That's Rael for you." said Gerrel.

"Can you tell about the other Admirals? Anything that might help me change their minds about Tali?" Austin asked.

"The one you didn't recognize, Tali, is Admiral Xen. She's on the fence. She takes Fleet safety very seriously. On the other hand, she's always been in favour of studying the Geth. I hope she sees the benefits of Rael's research. Admiral Koris is the same whining suit-wetter he always was." said Gerrel.

"You disagree with Admiral Koris' policies, I'm guessing? Or is it personal?" Leena asked.

"The man is a damn Geth apologist. Thinks we were wrong to try and destroy them centuries ago. He wants us to search for new colony possibilities instead of taking back the homeworld. Any research on the Geth makes him angry. You don't have much of a chance with him, I'm afraid." said Gerrel.

"It sounds like we're dealing with more politics than just Tali binging back equipment." said Austin.

"You noticed that, did you? Tali's father wasn't just running weapons tests on the Geth for fun. He was looking for something to give us the edge when we attack the Geth in full-scale war." said Gerrel.

"I know father wanted to retake the homeworld someday, but are we that close?" Tali asked.

"I don't know, kid. We almost had the vote. We just need to give people hope for victory." said Gerrel.

"I hope the Quarians find someplace to live, Admiral, but it sounds like you're playing with fire." said Austin.

"We're too comfortable now, Shepard. We've got the largest fleet in the galaxy, and we just ride around doing nothing." said Gerrel.

"We might need that fleet to help fight the Reapers, Admiral." said Tali.

"Then we need a world to shelter our non-combatants while we do it." Gerrel quickly replied.

"Thanks for the information." said Austin.

"Hang in there, kid." said Gerrel.

"Thank you, Admiral." said Tali.

Admiral Koris was the next Admiral they decided to speak to.

"Judging by your ability to play to a crowd, Helldiver, I have done Tali a favour by stripping "vas Neema" from her name." he said.

"Major Shepard, this is Admiral Zaal Koris vas QwiB-Qwib. Do not ask about the name." said Tali. She didn't seem very fond of Koris.

"I take no pleasure in this, Tali, truly. But you have gravely endangered and dishonoured our fleet." said Koris.

"What exactly is your problem with my friend, Admiral?" Leena asked crossly.

"I respect Tali immensely. Her actions against Saren are to be lauded. But like her father, she wants nothing but the destruction of the Geth… the people we created. The people we wronged." said Koris.

"The Geth drove us from our homeworld!" Tali objected.

"Of course they did. We tried to kill them." said Koris.

"You and the other Admirals appear to have some disagreements beyond Tali's trial." said Austin.

"You are correct. Tali, I apologise for it being brought into your proceedings." said Koris. "The other Admirals are pushing for war. Rael Zorah was researching new weapons to use against the Geth. They would see our fleet destroyed in the skies over out homeworld rather than find a new colony and adapt."

"Can the Quarians coexist with the Geth after all your history?" Austin asked.

"I don't know. We all deserve to find out. They are our children, Shepard. We have all done horrible things to each other, but it has to end. For both groups. That is why I cannot sanction whatever experiments you helped enable, Tali Zorah. I believe this message needs to be sent." Koris replied.

"I understand, Admiral. I do not agree with you, but I understand." said Tali.

Austin then turned to Legion.

"Do you think the Geth would be willing to accept a truce with the Quarians, Legion?" he asked.

"We did not seek hostilities with creators. We fought for continued existence." replied the Geth.

"So your people would be open to peace?" Koris asked.

"Not without additional data that suggests coexistence is possible or desirable for creators. When the creators have believed victory is possible, they have attacked us 100 percent of the time." Legion replied.

"I understand. It would be difficult to argue for peace when faced with odds like those. That does not mean the argument should not be made." said Koris.

"We should move on."

"Goodbye, Tali Zorah. Be well."

"I'm surprised to hear you say that." said Tali in surprise.

"I don't hear you, Tali. I just think your father's plans for war were wrong." said Koris.

Austin noticed that Xen was on the other side of the room and so he and the others went to speak with her. As they did however, they saw a very familiar face. Veetor! He was in the company of a Quarian doctor who was obviously caring for him while he slowly recovered from the trauma he'd endured on Freedom's Progress.

"Shepard? How did you get onto the Rayya?" he asked in surprise.

"Shepard is here to help me with my trial." said Tali.

"Oh, yes. I heard about that. I hope you didn't really do what they said you did." said Veetor.

"No, Veetor. I would never endanger the Fleet." said Tali.

"Oh. Well, good. So, can I help you with anything? I mean, probably not but – you helped me." said Veetor.

He sounded a lot less nervous than before and it looked as though he was doing much better. It was nice to see that he was at least recovering slowly but surely.

"Tali could use some friends right now. Would you be willing to tell the Admirals how she helped you?" Austin asked.

"No! I mean, yes, but I already did! They came to see me. I didn't want to talk in a crowd." said Veetor nervously.

"Veetor is doing well, but he isn't ready for a public speech just yet." said the doctor.

"I talked to them. So did that soldier, Kal Reegar. We both told them about how you helped us. I hope it helped." said Veetor.

"I'm sure it did, Veetor. Thank you." said Tali.

Austin felt it best not to ask him about the Collectors. He didn't want bring back any bad memories. Austin also didn't think that Veetor could tell them anything new that they didn't already know now.

"Take care of yourself, Veetor. Not many could have gone through what you did and come out sane." he simply said.

"I know. I didn't. But thank you, Major. It's only because of your help that I've come this far." said Veetor gratefully.

Tali then saw another familiar Quarian wearing a red suit with a black visor.

"Kal Reegar!"

"Shepard, Tali Zorah. Good to see you both. Wish it were under better circumstances." said the soldier.

"What did they get from our readings?" Tali asked.

"Damnedest thing. It's just like they said. No way the sun on Haestrom should have been acting that way." Reegar replied.

"So that dark energy theory is right? That's troubling." said Tali.

"Can't really comment on that, ma'am. I just shoot things." said Reegar.

"How've you been, Reegar? You took kind of a beating on Haestrom." Austin asked.

"Physical damage wasn't bad. I was down for about a week with infection, though. Figure I got off easy. I don't have to face those Admirals." said Reegar.

"With your immune systems, it couldn't be easy for Quarians to fight a war. You'd lose more people to infection than injury." said Austin.

"We can't afford a frontline attack, that's for sure. Have to fight smart - ideally from orbit." said Reegar.

"We do have stockpiles of antibiotics. It's not as though everyone would die from a single shot." said Tali.

"No, Shepard's right. You've only seen our strike ops, Tali. Don't have all the fancy equipment to a frontline fight. Supplies get strained, things get ugly fast." said Reegar.

"What are you doing aboard the Rayya? It sounds like you gave your report to the Admiralty already." Austin asked curiously.

"I, ah, stayed to argue that charges against Tali Zorah. I've served with her, and she deserves better than what she's getting." said Reegar admittedly.

"Thanks, Kal." said Tali gratefully.

"Just stating facts, ma'am." said Kal, bowing his head slightly.

"Have you had any luck talking to the Admiralty Board?" Austin asked.

"Admiral Raan asked my opinion about the Geth, since I'd fought on Haestrom. She and Admiral Gerrel are hoping you'll kill a bunch of Geth to get the crowd on your side, then find evidence to clear your name. They were hesitant, but, well, you didn't have many other options, ma'am. I recommended getting you onto the Alarei. I hope you can handle it." said Reegar.

"You did the right thing. Thank you." said Tali.

"You said your mission had something to do with Dark Energy." Austin inquired.

"Right. Remember that damn sun on Haestrom? Shorted out everything, way too much radiation? The sun's getting old… only it's not." "Dark energy. It's reducing the mass of the star's interior. Techs are worried." Reegar explained.

"Do you think the Geth are responsible for what's happening to Haestrom's sun?" Austin asked.

"Keelah, I hope not. If they can screw up a star, our chances in a war are even worse than I thought." said Reegar.

"I don't think this is the Geth. It would take massive time and resources to affect a star like this deliberately. It's too inefficient to be a weapon, and even the Geth wouldn't destroy a useful star system. Besides, they didn't show up until we did." said Tali.

"Hope you're right, ma'am. Synthetic bastards are bad enough as it is." said Reegar.

"What does the dark energy build-up mean? Is it something we should worry about?" Austin asked.

"Sorry, Shepard. I don't know what it means. Just that it has the scientists worried." said Reegar.

"Hopefully it's isolated, some rare phenomenon. If dark energy can destabilize solar material… Probably not something to worry about now, but resources in this galaxy are scarce enough without stars suddenly going dead." said Tali.

"Some days I think flying around in the Fleet without a planet of our own is the right idea." said Reegar.

Austin felt it best they move on.

"We should get going." he said.

"Good luck on the Alarei. Stay safe out there." said Reegar.

Xen didn't look all that pleased to be speaking with them or Tali. Sometimes Austin had a talent of telling instantly about people, and something about Xen made him feel uneasy.

"Tali Zorah. Given the circumstances, are you certain that speaking to me is appropriate?" she asked.

"I'm looking for information about the Alarei. I don't intend to bribe you in the middle of the plaza, Admiral." said Tali.

"And what a wonderful specimen this is. Geth shell over standard mech interior, or did you convince a Geth to work with you?" Xen asked, her attention focused very much on Legion.

"Legion is working with me voluntarily. It's part of my team." said Austin.

"It has a name. Fascinating. The things I could learn under different circumstances." said Xen.

"This platform is not available for experimentation." said Legion.

"Charming. I am pleased to see that the humans, at least, have not abandoned synthetics. This whole trial is a farce borne of fear." said Xen.

"If you're not interested in this trial, why not recuse yourself?" Austin asked.

"And let that aging warship Han Gerrel and the cowardly Zaal Koris be the ones to chart this course? I think not. The broader purpose underlying the trial is too important. Tali Zorah is only peripherally related. No offense intended." Xen replied.

"And what is the true purpose of this trial, Admiral?" Tali asked.

"To determine whether Quarians should fear their past mistakes, or reclaim their glory using our natural affinity for artificial intelligence." said Xen.

"So the only reason you care about this is because Rael might have learned something valuable from the Geth?" Austin asked.

"Indeed. If he has, then even in this accident, we may find something worthwhile." said Xen.

"You want to create new AIs?" Tali asked in surprise.

"No, Tali Zorah. I wish to return the Geth to the control of their rightful masters, the Quarian race. Xen replied.

"Geth behavioural changes from "hacking" only last until programs are restored from archival copy. We judge this plan unsound, Creator Admiral." said Legion.

"For once, Legion, we agree." said Tali.

"We shall see, marvellous machine. We shall see." said Xen.

"Can you tell me anything about the Alarei?" Austin asked.

"Little. We detected several communication signatures before the Geth jammed the comm systems. Given the likely networked intelligence requirements for taking over a ship, expect between ten and fifty units." said Xen.

"Then this can't have anything to do with me. I only sent parts and pieces, and certainly not enough to make that many Geth." said Tali.

"It sounds like your ideas about synthetics are in the minority." said Austin.

"Yes. At least on the Admiralty Board. Han Gerrel sees an enemy that must be crushed. Zaal Koris would run away and hide on some new colony world. Shala Raan is still undecided. I had thought Rael to be firmly in Han's camp, but if his experiments were on active Geth, perhaps we have ideas in common." said Xen.

"If we don't find Rael alive on the Alarei, what do you think will happen?" Austin asked.

"The power balance will be disrupted. Han loses a vote for his foolish self-destructive war. That would favour peace, then as Shala Raan is too careful to risk her own neck. But if the Admiral replacing Rael agrees with me… things could become very exciting." said Xen, almost smiling under her helmet.

"You support experiments on living creatures?" Austin asked.

"Rael should have felt no more guilt experimenting on Geth than I did while performing surgery on a childhood toy." Xen replied.

"The fact that you performed surgery on your childhood toys explains a great deal, Admiral." said Tali.

"A ship travels faster than I can. With the right programming, it can choose locations, even defend itself when attacked. But it is just a machine. It was built for the sole purpose of serving its master. And it can be dismantles whenever its master desires." said Xen.

"Thank you for the information." said Austin.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Major." said Xen.

They finally headed for the docking bay where their shuttle was. The guard seemed a bit unnerved by Legion.

"Is… is that really a Geth, Tali Zorah? The guards at the docking bay said-"

"Don't worry. It's under our control. With luck, it will help us retake the Alarei." said Tali reassuringly.

"If you say so. Per Admiral Raan's orders, the shuttle is prepared for you and Major Shepard vas Normandy." said the guard.

* * *

There were no bodies aboard the Alarei, but definite signs of fighting due to scorch marks on the walls and signs of heavy fighting.

Sure enough, the ship was crawling with Geth, and not just soldiers. There were rocket troopers, pyros and even some of those drones. The Admiral's reports of the Alarei definitely hadn't been exaggerated.

* * *

After a very long time of fighting through practically an army of Geth, they came across on Quarian body. Austin feared he knew who this was. Sure enough, his fears were confirmed when Tali saw the body too.

"Father!" Tali yelled as she dropped to her knees, still unable to truly believe that Rael was truly dead.

"No, no, no! You always had a plan. Masked life signs, or, or an on board medical stasis program, maybe. You! You wouldn't... They're wrong! You wouldn't just die like this! You wouldn't..." she whimpered.

"Hey. Hey come here." said Austin as he hugged Tali.

"Damn it! Damn it. I'm sorry." said Tali, eventually managing to calm down.

"You've got nothing to be sorry about." said Austin.

"Maybe... He would have known I'd come. Maybe he left a message." said Tali as she accessed her father's omni tool. A small hologram of him appear out of it.

 _"Tali. If you are listening, then I am dead. The Geth have gone active. I don't have much time. Their main hub will be on the bridge. You'll need to destroy it to stop their VI processes from forming new neural links. Make sure Han Gerrel and Daro Xen see the data. They must-"_ said the message before it was suddenly cut off.

"Thanks, Dad."

"He knew you'd come for him He was trying to help you. It's not perfect. It's not what you wanted. But it's the best he could do." said Austin, trying to reassure Tali.

"I don't know what's worse: thinking he never cared, or thinking that he did, and that this was the only way he could show it." said Tali, with regret. "It doesn't matter. One way or the other, I cared. And I'm here. And we're ending this."

The bridge doors opened to reveal a Geth Prime and two more Geth soldiers. They hadn't noticed them so far so everyone stayed down to avoid being detected.

The Prime and the two troopers appeared to look as though they were talking with something. Austin silently signalled for the others to hold their ground while he got a bit closer, activating his cloak in the progress.

The Helldiver peaked his head around the corner slightly to try and get a better look. From what he could see, the three Geth seemed to be talking to some kind of red hologram. Upon slightly closer inspection, it almost looked like a red synthetic eye of some sorts.

Austin couldn't help but feel as though he'd seen that thing before, but he couldn't remember.

The Geth were speaking to the hologram in their own familiar language of mechanical chirps and whirs. The hologram then replied back in the same language, but it's voice was way deeper than a normal Geth's, even a Prime's voice wasn't anywhere near that deep. This also sounded familiar to Austin, but he couldn't remember that either.

The Geth and the hologram seemed to communicate with each other for several seconds. It suddenly occurred to Austin that he'd brought legion with him. Maybe he could ask if the Geth understood what they were saying.

 _"Legion, can you tell what they are saying?"_ he whispered.

Legion unfortunately didn't seem to understand why Austin was whispering and so replied back at full volume.

"They are communicating with an outside source."

 _"Quiet! Not so loud!"_ Austin hissed, but it was too late.

The three Geth and the hologram had heard legion speak. The Geth immediately armed their weapons and the hologram vanished.

Fighting a normal Geth Prime was definitely a lot easier than fighting the Terror Geth. As Tali had said, a single Geth had no more intelligence than a Varren and so they weren't' as smart as the Terror Geth had been. That also meant that they didn't have any advanced combat manoeuvres They just stood were they were, fired and hoped they killed their targets. As a result, they were quickly dispatched.

"Legion, in future keep the volume of your voice low when I'm whispering. You do understand how to keep quiet, don't you?" said Austin.

"We apologise, Shepard-Major. We had thought you were planning a surprise attack, not a stealth attack. We will learn from this mistake, it will not happen again."

"So what were those Geth doing?" Leena asked. "It looked as though they were trying to contact more Geth."

"There is no trace of the signal source they were communicating with. We are afraid it is impossible to find out." said Legion.

"There's bound to still be the evidence we need though." said Austin.

"Yes. This console is linked to the main hub Father mentioned. Disabling it shut down any Geth we missed." said Tali. "It looks like some of the recordings remained intact. They'll tell us how this happened. What Father did."

"You sound like you don't really want to hear it." said Austin.

'We have to, I know. I just... this is terrible, Austin. I don't want to know that he was part of this." said Tali.

The recording came up showing Rael and two other Quarian scientists.

 _"Do we have enough parts to bring more online?"_ Rael asked.

 _"Yes. The new shipment from your daughter will let us add two more Geth to the network."_ one of the scientists replied.

 _"We're nearing a breakthrough on systemic viral attacks. Perhaps we should inform the Admiralty Board, just be to be safe."_ the other suggested.

 _"No. We're too close. I promised to build my daughter a house on the homeworld. I'm not going to sit and wait while the Politicians argue."_ Rael objected.

 _"We'd have an easier time with it if Tali Zorah could send back more working material."_ said one of the scientists.

 _"Absolutely not! I don't want Tali exposed to any political blowback."_ Rael objected. _"Leave Tali out of this. Assemble new Geth with what we have. Bypass security protocols if need be."_

The recording finished. Tali was left lost for words.

"It sounds like he was doing this for you." Austin finally said, trying to reassure her a bit.

"I never wanted this, Austin. Keelah, I never wanted this. Everything here is his fault. I tried to pretend it didn't point to him, but this... when this comes up in the trial they'll... We can't tell them. Not the Admirals, not anybody." she said.

"Tali, without this evidence, you're looking at exile!" Austin objected.

"You think I don't know that?! You think I don't know that I want to live knowing that I can never see the Fleet again? But I can't go back into that room and say that my father was the worst war criminal in our people's history! I cannot!" said Tali.

"Rael Zorah doesn't need you to worry about him anymore. You hear him say he didn't want you to be caught in the politics!" said Austin.

"You don't' understand, Shepard." said Leena. "They would strike his name from the manifest of every ship he ever served on. He would be worse than an exile. He'd be a traitor to our people, held up for children as a monster in a cautionary tale!"

"I can't let all the good he did be destroyed for this, Austin." said Tali.

"We're not going to decide anything here. Let's see what the Admirals say once we get back." said Austin.

"You're my Captain in this hearing, Austin. It's you're decision. But please. Don't destroy what my father was." said Tali.

She then turned to Leena.

"Leena, I..."

"You said so yourself, Tali. It's Shepard's decision." said Leena. "I won't deny that I would tell the truth if it was my decision. But I guess that's me being too cold. If Shepard respects your decision, I won't say anything."

"I guess that's the best I can ask for." said Tali. She then turned back to Austin. "Come on. If we wait too long, they'll decide we're already dead, and none of this will matter."

* * *

Upon re-entering the Rayya, they could overhear the Admiral's voices.

 _"We need to face facts. There has been no word. There is no reason to think Tali Zorah survived."_ said Koris.

"It sounds like the hearing is already underway." said Tali.

 _"We must trust Shepard's offer of assistance. It's only been a few hours."_ said Shala.

" _Leena was right. Springing the information about Rael on Tali… we practically dared her to take back the Alarei. We killed her."_ said Gerrel.

 _"A pity Shepard vas Normandy is a better speaker than a soldier. I recommend posthumously exiling Tali Zorah."_ said Koris.

_"WHAT?!"_

_"It was agreed Tali Zorah would not be exiled where she killed in action!"_ Shala objected.

 _"It was suggested, Admiral. I recall no agreement. To that end I call for an immediate vote."_ said Koris.

They quickly hurried back into the conclave.

"Very well. Is the Admiralty board prepared to render judgement?" Shala asked.

Just in time, the group pushed throughout the crowd and once again stood before the board.

"Sorry we're late." said Tali sarcastically.

Leena also didn't seem too happy that the Admiral's had started without them.

"You didn't waste much time declaring us dead. Go get your ship!" she said.

"We apologise, Leena. Your success in taking back the Alarei is... very unexpected." Gerrel apologised.

"Tali Zorah saved the Alarei. I hope this proves her value to the Quarian people." said Austin.

"Her loyalty was never in doubt. Only her judgement." said Koris.

"Perhaps Tali Zorah can offer something to encourage more trust in her judgement." Shala suggested.

"Did you find anything on the Alarei that could clarify what happened there?" Gerrel asked.

Austin kept trying to think if there was any way of solving this. He could never betray Tali by revealing the truth, but at the same time, she didn't deserve to be exiled because of it.

"Austin... please..." Tali almost begged as the Helldiver stepped forward.

"Does Major Shepard have any new evidence to submit to this hearing?" Shala asked.

Austin remained silent for a long while. In the end, he knew he had no other choice. He finally spoke with his mind made up.

"We found nothing on the Alarei that we wish to submit as evidence." he said, doing his best to hide to sigh in his voice.

"Tali?" Gerrel asked.

"I have nothing to say." said Tali.

Austin sighed inside his helmet so that no one would hear. He felt bad about this. Like he'd let Tali down. There'd always been another way, a fair compromise. But not this time. His friend would never see her home or friends again.

Just before Shala could speak however, Leena suddenly stepped forward.

"Wait! I have something I wish to say." she said.

Shala nodded to her daughter, who then, rather surprisingly, turned to the crowd.

"Look at them, all of you! They don't care about Tali! All they care about is their war with the Geth!" she shouted. "Tali risked her life for all of you! On Haestrom, hell, on the Citadel when she stopped Saren! She deserves better than this!

"If Tali Zorah has no new evidence, I suggest we render judgment." said Koris.

Some of the crowd suddenly stood up in defiance. To Austin's amazement, Veetor suddenly stepped forward.

"Wait! Leena's right! Tali saved me! She doesn't deserve to be exiled!" he said.

Kal Reegar then joined in as well.

"Damn straight! Tali's done more for this fleet than you assholes ever will! You're pissing on everything I fought for, everything Tali fought for! So if you exile her... you might as well do the same to me." he said.

"Me too." Veetor agreed.

"Same here!" Leena agreed.

All three of the Admirals activated their omni tools. There was a brief silence, and then Shala spoke.

"Tali Zorah, in light of your history of service, we do not find sufficient evidence to convict. You are cleared of all charges." she said, almost with happiness.

Austin was left absolutely speechless. He could not believe that Leena had managed to pull that off. What's more, she had succeeded where he failed. It seemed that despite over 10 years of working together, he still had much to learn about his squad. They really were full of surprises.

"Major Shepard. Please accept these gifts in appreciation for you taking the time to represent one of our people." said Shala as she gave Austin several tech schematics. These would prove very useful for their mission.

"With all due respect, Admirals. He didn't represent one of ours, he represented one of his." said Leena.

"So he did, Leena." said Gerrel.

"If you appreciate me, then listen: The Reapers are coming. I'm gonna need your help to stop them. Please, don't throw lives away against the Geth." said Austin.

"Thank you, Major Shepard. I hope this board carefully considers your advice." said Koris.

Austin simply shook his head. That hadn't quite been the answer he'd been hoping for. Still, perhaps maybe that was a conversation for another time.

"This hearing is concluded. Go in peace Tali Zorah vas Normandy. Keelah se'lai." said Shala.

 _"Keelah se'lai."_ the crowd repeated.

* * *

"I just cannot believe that worked. How the hell did you do that?!" Austin asked.

"I guess we just got lucky." said Leena. Even she did seem a bit surprised herself that her speech to the crowd had worked.

"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck." said Austin. "You succeeded where I failed."

"You didn't fail me, Austin. You were going to respect my decision. I don't blame you for that." said Tali.

She then turned to Leena. "I can't believe you pulled that off. What you said... I've never had anyone speak like that in my behalf. Thank you for being there for my father and me, even when... thank you." she said gratefully.

Leena walked up to Tali and embraced her. Tali seemed to do the same.

"Your more than just a friend to me, Tali. You'll always be the little sister I never had." said Leena. "In fact seeing as my mother is you're Auntie, you are one in my eyes."

"I never thought though that you'd do that. I feared you'd either just remain silent or reveal the truth to the Admirals." said Tali.

"I still don't agree with what your father did, Tali. What he said, what he did was wrong, but... you don't deserve to be exiled for what he did. You deserved better. " said Leena.

"I got better, Leena. I got you, and Austin. I've never had truer friends."

"We can still go back in and get you exiled if you want." Austin joked, causing both Tali and Leena to chuckle.

"Thanks. But I'm fine with things like this. It's fun watching Helldivers shout." said Tali.

"Come on then, you two. Let's get back to work." Austin smiled.

"Thank you, Major." said Tali.

"Yes sir." said Leena.

* * *

"Veetor, I can't believe you stood up and spoke for me." said Tali.

"Oh, well, it's good Reegar was there. He said most of it." said Veetor bashfully.

"Veetor, thank you." Tali simply said.

"Oh, er... okay. And thank you, Shepard, for... for helping me and Tali both." said Veetor.

"Guess you just needed a pretty woman to help you feel better." said Austin.

"Well, maybe. Good luck, Tali and you too, Major." said Veetor.

* * *

"Kal, thank you. I can't believe you did that." said Tali gratefully.

"You'd have done the same for me, ma'am. Figured I had to say something when you didn't use that evidence you found on the Alarei." said Reegar.

"I didn't say anything about finding evidence, Kal." said Tali.

"Noticed that, ma'am." said Reegar.

"Any idea what your next assignment is going to be?" Austin asked.

"I'm going to be escorting more techs around to look for signs of dark energy build-up. Maybe see if they can figure out what's causing it. Wherever they send me, it'll be less exciting than Haestrom." Reegar replied.

"What's your take on the war? Are the Admirals going to try retake the homeworld?" Austin asked.

"I won't shy away from a fight, but if the Admirals throw the Fleet at the Geth, all they'll get back is scrap metal. The best bet would be for us to find another way. But a soldier can't say unless his superiors ask." said Reegar.

"I appreciate your help, Reegar. I don't know what we would've done if you and Veetor hadn't stood up to help me." said Leena, gratefully.

"I'm sure you would've figured something out. Good luck out there, ma'am." said Reegar.

"Kal, just call me Tali." said Tali.

"I'll work on that, ma'am." said Reegar.

* * *

"Very impressive speech, Major Shepard. But tell me truly, did you recover any of Rael Zorah's research on the Alarei?" Xen asked.

"Nothing that will help you, Admiral." said Tali.

"Pity. Ah, well. Whatever is created can be recreated. In any event, I am pleased that our talk regarding the war conundrum allowed you to help Tali. Her exile would have been unfortunate." said Xen.

"You should abandon your plans, Admiral. They're only going to make the situation worse." said Austin.

"We shall see, Major. Many things are impossible until they are done." said Xen.

* * *

"Damn fine speech, Leena. You called us on the carpet out there, and you were right. Thank you. Tali shouldn't have been involved in that argument. Tell me, though, honestly. What did you find over there? You spoke well, but I know a feint when I see it." said Gerrel.

"Off the record? Rael Zorah was bringing the Geth online and networking them for weapons tests." said Austin.

"Keelah!"

"You can never tell anyone, Han." said Tali.

"You have my word. I would've heard what your father wanted for the fleet. I'm just glad you didn't have to pay for his mistakes. Be well, Tali. Fly safe." said Gerrel.

* * *

"Very impressive, Leena. Shepard, thank you for your help on the Alarei. And thank you for helping Rael Zorah's daughter. You stood for her when we failed. We were wrong to let our own concerns about the war overshadow Tali's trial." said Zaal Koris.

"The galaxy needs more people saying what you're saying, Admiral. Good luck." said Austin.

"Thank you, Major." said the Admiral gratefully.

* * *

Shala was the last person to talk to since Austin felt it best for Leena to say a proper goodbye.

"The Admirals thought they were hoddling you by forcing you to represent her, Shepard. I'm glad they were wrong." she said. "You didn't mention survivors. Did you find Rael, Tali? I'm sure he would have left you a message if he'd had time." she asked.

"We found Rael's body. He left a message for Tali." said Austin.

"I can only imagine how horrible this is for you, child, but at least you got to hear your father tell you he loved you." said Shala sympathetically.

"Yes. Thank you, Shala." said Tali as she walked up to Shala and hugged her.

"Good luck on your mission. No matter how dark it gets, the Fleet is always with you. Keelah se'lai." said Shala.

Leena then hugged her mother as well. When they finally separated, Leena activated her omni tool and gave Shala her comm number.

"I'll call if I can. We've been apart for too long." said Leena.

"You don't need to give me this, Leena... but I'm glad you have. Yes, you are right. It has been a long time." said Shala.

"I'll be coming back from our mission, mother. You will see me again, I promise." said Leena.

"I know you will. But whatever happens, I'm so proud of you and I've never stopped loving all of these years." said Shala as she caressed the side of Leena's Helldiver helmet, the closest thing she could get to her cheek."

"I love you, mother."

"I love you too, Leena."

The two finally separated and Shala turned to Austin.

"Shepard. I know you have looked after both of them well, and it's wrong to ask even more of you. But please, keep them safe. I've finally seen Leena again after so many years and Tali has always been like a second daughter to me. I couldn't bear to lose either one of them." she said.

Austin bowed his head, putting his fist on his chest as he did so.

"You have my word, Shala. I intend for us all to live through this mission and come back alive. You'll see them both again, I promise." he said.

"Thank you, Shepard. It warms my heart to know that they are in good hands. They chose their Captain well." Shala smiled as and Austin shook hands.

"Farewell, Shala."

"Keelah se'lai, Major Shepard."

* * *

Austin went down to the engineering deck to check on Tali, just to be sure she was alright. She was at her usual spot and still working, but she seemed happy.

"Keelah, I'm sorry I dragged you into Quarian politics. All that infighting, seeing what my father did… You and Leena were the only ones there for me, Austin – the only cover I had against the storm. Thank you." She said.

"I imagine they're trying to fill your father's spot on the Admiralty Board. What will that do to the balance of power?" Austin asked.

"I have no idea. Being exiled might have made it easier. A few people are suggesting me as a candidate. Replacing an Admiral takes time, though. You may not have noticed, but Quarians like to debate." Said Tali.

"Are Quarians politics always like that?" Austin asked.

"No. Sometimes it can actually get unpleasant. We're a very social people, Austin. We have to be, to make up for being stuck in these suits. And part of that means getting involved in each other's business." Tali replied.

"The whole trial was insulting. You should have had time to mourn your father." Said Austin.

"I don't think life is about what you deserve. But my father would be honoured that I chose to mourn him by blowing up a lot of Geth." Said Tali, smiling under her helmet. "I should get back to work. But thanks for checking on me."

* * *

**Legion's mission is the last on left!**

**Now, two things I'd like to say.**

**1\. Read project Overlord again and tell me if the red eye you've seen in this chapter seemed familiar at all.**

**2\. Dark Energy, which Tali and Reegar mentioned will be featured in my version of ME3. I've even come up with a good idea which resolves the plot hole of Haestrom's sun.**

**From what my good friend LegionaryPrime, told me, i** **t was meant to be in the game, and Dark Energy was even part of the ending, but they changed it after one of the writers left. Prime told me what the Dark Energy ending involved, and (I never thought I'd say this) I actually prefer the endings we have to that one.**

**Anyway (getting a bit off topic here) what I'm trying to say is that Dark Energy won't be in my ME3 ending, but it will play a role in the story. Specifically, during the Rannoch war with the Terror Geth. A select few of you already know the details, but for those who don't, let me tell you it will be cool!**


	36. Chapter 36, A House Divided

**I'll be honest, I'm a bit disappointed with this one. It's nto my finest, it's very short compared to the usual word count I do, and it took me longer than usual.**

**Still, I guess all authors have their bad bits from time to time.**

**Still, the next one should be much better. Now that it's the holidays, I have way more time on my hands.**

* * *

**Chapter 36**

**A House Divided**

Rather surprisingly, Legion it seemed had something he wanted to take care of as well. Austin hadn't expected this given that the Geth was a machine, but then again there were plenty of things the galaxy still did not know about them.

"Shepard-Major. We have completed our analysis of the Reaper's data core." said Legion.

"Did you find anything useful?" Austin asked.

"We were sent to the Old Machine preserve the Geth's future. We are prepared to reveal how. The heretics have developed a weapon to use against the Geth. You would call it a "virus" It is stored on a data core provided by Sovereign. Over time, the Virus will change us. Make us conclude that worshipping the Old Machines is correct." Legion explained.

"So why did you need to go to the Reaper corpse?" Austin asked.

"The heretics stored the code in a quantum storage device Sovereign provided before creating Nazara. To find and destroy the virus, we needed to understand its code and data storage structures."

"So, the virus would give all Geth the heretic logic. And all Geth would then go to war with organics."

"Yes. Geth believe all intelligent life should self-determinate. The heretics no longer share this belief. They judge that forcing an invalid conclusion on us is preferable to a continued schism."

"I thought Geth couldn't be hacked or get viruses? At least for more than a few seconds."

"Altered programs are restored from archives, new installations are deleted. This heretic weapon introduces a subtle operating error in our most basic runtimes. The equivalent of your nervous system."

"An equation with a result of 1.33382 returns as 1.33381. This changes the results of all higher processes. We will reach different conclusions."

"So the reason they worship the Reaper is… a math error?"

"It is difficult to express. Your brain exists as chemistry, electricity. Like AIs, you are shaped by both hardware and software. We are purely software. Mathematics. The heretics' conclusion is valid for them. Our conclusion is valid for us. Neither result is an error. An analogy. Heretics say one is less than two. Geth say two is less than three."

"If it were released, how quickly would this virus spread through your people?"

"We are networked via FTL comm buoys. Most would change within a day. Isolated platforms would remain unaffected until they re-joined the network."

"You know where this thing is?"

"The heretics' headquarters station, on the edge of the Terminus. We will provide coordinates. Normandy's stealth systems are necessary to safely approach."

"I won't let them brainwash your race, especially not to worship Reapers. You have my word on that."

"We will begin preparations."

* * *

If Austin didn't know better, he'd say that the heretic station was a starship of some kind. It certainly looked the part.

He'd had a very tough time deciding who should be with him on this mission. In the end, he'd been unable to make his mind up and had simply settled on taking Sarah. He figured it would hurt to spend some time with his sister seeing as how Legion didn't feel emotions in the same way humans did.

"You know it's just our heat emissions that are hidden, right? They could look out a window and see us coming." said Joker.

"Windows are structural weaknesses. Geth do not use them. Approach the hull at these coordinates." said Legion. "Access achieved. We may proceed."

Joker then did a silent robot impression, mocking legion. Sarah however noticed him and knocked him hard on the shoulder.

"Don't do that again." she said.

"Alright! Jeez, you and your brother are no fun."

"I heard that, Joker!" said Austin.

* * *

Getting actually inside wasn't too tricky since Legion knew the right point in which to enter and they simply had to cut through one of the doors. They son achieved access and jumped down. Austin made sure he had his mag boots enabled so as to not float around. Though the station had some gravity, it wasn't as strong as the one he and the others were used.

"Alert. This facility has little air or gravity. Geth require neither." said Legion.

"Good thing you and I always wear helmets then, Austin." Said Sarah indicating her Death Mask.

"Won't we be detected? Don't they have intrusion alarms?" Austin asked.

"Sensors have been reduced. We have infiltrated their wireless network and filled the data storage with random bits." Legion replied.

"And that helps us how?"

"The heretics must scrub this "junk" data. They have partitioned themselves into local networks, working in parallel. Any alarm we trigger will not go beyond the room we are in. Only accessing the main core will trigger a station-wide alert."

"We've got a job to do. Let's get to it." said Austin. As he walked past however, Legion called to him.

"Shepard-Major. We concluded that destruction of this station was the only resolution to the heretic question. There is now a second option. Their virus can repurposed. If released into the station's network, the heretics will be rewritten to accept our truth." said the Geth.

"Convince them to reject Nazara's rule, huh? That sounds like a good alternative to destroying them." Said Sarah.

"It means though that they'll join Legion's Geth." said Austin. Though he trusted legion, he wasn't too sure about this. "Why didn't you mention this before we came aboard?"

"We did not know the virus was complete. It is. It can be used against the true Geth at any time. Our arrival was timely." Legion explained.

"They're your people, Legion. You must have an opinion." said Austin.

"This is new data. We have not yet reached consensus." said Legion.

"This isn't the time to debate it. Let's move while the heretics are distracted."

The hallways of the ship reminded Austin of the derelict Reaper. Shouldn't be surprising though since they worshipped the Reapers.

Parts of the floor in the room they were in were covered with what looked like green data streams of code. Some nearby Geth could be seen attached to a nearby hub, oblivious to their intruders.

"I don't think they know we're in here. We can use that to our advantage." said Sarah.

"Interrupting data streams will alert global network." Said Legion.

"Watch your step, everyone. I'd rather not start a fight unless necessary." said Austin.

They carefully made their way to the door, but the current from the data streams was blocking it. It would seem that they would have to start a fight in order to progress further.

Austin and Sarah took cover near to the hub while Legion took cover slightly further away.

Austin took a grenade from his belt and threw it. The hub exploded sending two of the three Geth flying. The last one turned to fire, but Sarah and Legion popped out of cover and fired shots. Legion's shot took the Geth's head clean off, while Sarah's shot took out a leg causing the Geth to fall.

Austin took a moment to examine the hub now that the fighting was over.

"Why are all the heretics attached to these hubs?" he asked.

"These are mobile platforms. Hardware. The crew is software. They are communing through the station's central computer." said Legion.

"I'm not sure I follow." said Austin.

"The heretics connect to the main computer to exchange data-memories and program updates. We gain complexity by linking together. To be isolated within a single platform is to be reduced. We see less. Comprehend less. It is quieter." Legion explained.

"If you exchange data – memories – how do you keep track of which ones are yours? How do you stay "you?" Sarah asked.

"There is only "we." We were created to share data among ourselves. The different between Geth is perspective. We are many eyes looking at the same things. One platform will see things another does not and will make different judgments." Legion replied.

"I can see why you'd be conflicted about the heretics. In a way, whatever you do to them, you're doing to yourself." said Austin.

"Yes. Once they return to us and upload their memories, we will share their experience of being altered. Legion agreed.

"Every other species I know of might be psychologically scarred by a traumatic experience like that." Said Austin.

"It is not clear if Geth can be "traumatized." We do not feel pain as you do. We cannot predict what the effects will be." said Legion.

"Let's keep moving."

"Yes."

* * *

They fought through tons more Geth as they went through the station. Along the way, Legion was even able to access one or two terminals which gave them a bit of extra research on the heretics. Some of it could possibly be put to good use.

Further into the station, they seemed to come across what looked like more Geth hubs. They were different in design though. Almost... smaller.

"What are all these?" Sarah asked.

"Processors. Each contains thousands of Geth." Legion explained.

"Does that mean they can see us?" Austin asked concernedly.

"They are no more aware of us than you are of cells in your blood stream."

"This isn't like the other hubs we've seen here." said Austin.

"This is a database. It contains a portion of the heretics' accumulated memories." said Legion as he accessed one of them. "Wait. We discovered copies of our current patrol routes in this database. This suggests the heretics have runtimes within our networks."

"We wouldn't be here if the heretics wanted to be friends with the Geth. Why wouldn't they spy on you?" Austin asked.

"You do not understand. Organics do not know each other's minds. Geth do. We are not subconscious. We accept each other. The heretics desired to leave. We understood their reasons. We allowed it. There was peace between us." said Legion.

"It couldn't have lasted forever. You disagreed about what path your race should take." said Austin.

"Human history is a litany of blood shed over differing ideals of rulership and afterlife. Geth have no such history. We shared consensus on such things. How could we have become so different? Why can we no longer understand each other? What did we do wrong?" said Legion questionably.

"When individuals are separated, they develop different ways. When they get back together, they don't always get along." said Austin.

"You sound like an Asari Matriarch when you say that." Said Sarah.

"If this is the individuality you value, we question your judgement. This topic is irrelevant. We must return to the mission." said Legion.

"Have you reached a decision about whether to rewrite the heretics or not?" Austin asked.

"We are still trying to build consensus. Some processes judge destruction preferable. Others rewrite."

"Let's keep moving."

"Yes."

* * *

The next room appeared to be what they were looking for. It was a large control panel overlooking a large area. The lower area had some of the turrets from earlier.

"This is it?" Austin asked.

"Yes. We will upload a copy of our runtime into the core. It will delete all copies of the virus. When complete, it will notify us. The indexing operation will take time. The heretics will respond with force to our upload. We must hold this room." "We can override some of the station's internal systems to defend us. Are you ready to begin?" asked Legion.

"Start your upload, Legion. We'll defend this position."

"File transfer begun. Shepard-Major, where would you like us to activate defences?"

Almost instantly, every Geth on that station started acclimating to their presence. Sarah immediately took cover and laid down surprising fire so that her brother and Legion had time to get into position with their snipers. Legion was putting his Widow rifle to particularly good use. Austin meanwhile took a large odd looking object from the back of his combat belt.

"Good thing the Helldivers never discontinued these things." he muttered to himself.

He threw the object up into the air and it seemed to fold itself out into a small drone with 4 rotor blades in each corner.

The **A** riel, **C** ombat, **D** rone was another one of the Helldivers most commonly used and clever contraptions. Designed originally for Ariel reconnaissance, these drones had eventually received upgrades to allow them to also fight in combat. They could also now operate independently thanks to their AI computers, which was an improvement over the Helldivers having to control them themselves.

In fact, this drone was very like Tali's combat drone, Chiktikka, only this one was more technology based and designed for way more uses.

The ACD flew out a bit and then the gun on the bottom started firing. Several Geth instantly fell from this. Some tried to return fire, but the drown very cleverly was able to use evasive manoeuvres to avoid incoming fire and avoid damage.

With the more further away enemies taken care off, Austin could concentrate on some of the other Geth with his sniper rifle. Legion was also able to hack some more turrets to fight for them.

Things were going well, but then both the Turrets were destroyed by a Geth Prime. Without the turrets to fight them, things got a bit tougher and more and more Geth seems to file in to the room.

Eventually it became impossible to keep them away from the stairs and they started to get dangerously close to their froth lines.

"Keep them back. Don't let those Geth near the panel!" said Austin as he switched to his Revenant for close fire.

"Easy for you to say." Sarah mumbled as she shot a Geth Pyro's tank causing it to explode and send a few other Geth flying.

More and more continued filing into the room. At this rate, it looked like they were going to be overrun. And then, to make matters worse a new type of Geth seemed to join the fray.

It was same size as a normal Geth, but still different. Unlike the usual lights that Geth had, this one had dark red ones. It's paint job was black and it had a somewhat slimmer build. A blade seemed to emit from both of its wrists. The sleek design of its armour also indicated it was designed for stealth.

Austin fired at it, but the Geth did something rather astonishing. It flipped over the shot and to the side in an almost acrobatic fashion. It reminded Austin so much of the Phantoms Cerberus used.

"This Geth is unfamiliar to us. We have not seen one like this before." said Legion.

Still the Ares Geth dodged every shot that was fired at it. Under Austin's orders, Sarah and the ACD continued focusing on the other Geth while he and legion attempted to keep the Ares back. Unfortunately though, it wasn't working well. The Geth seemed to react too fast. Even Legion couldn't keep up with its speed.

"It's getting closer!" said Sarah cautiously.

"We're working on it." Austin mumbled.

Eventually, the Ares Geth got to the ramp up to their level and started climbing. Legion switched to his Geth assault rifle for close combat. Austin however knew this could get messy.

 _"Only one thing for it."_ he thought to himself.

He took a small little device from his belt and placed it on the floor. Ironically enough, the last time he'd used this thing had been the same reason he was using it now.

While Legion was backing away and firing at the Ares at the same time, the device unfolded into a little spider like robot.

The Ares swung a leg under Legion's, knocking the Geth to the ground. Just before it could deliver the final blow however, the spider jumped onto its face and started slicing through the metal skin.

The Ares Geth flailed about madly trying to shake the small drone off of its face. Legion was able to take this opportunity to fire several shots at the Ares' chest. It fell to the ground, allowing Legion to finish it off with several more shots to the head.

They finished the final Geth just as the upload finally completed. Legion was the first to notice.

"Data mine and analysis complete." he said. "Shepard-Major. It is time to choose. Do we rewrite the heretics, or delete them?"

"You don't have any trouble wiping out your own people?" asked Sarah.

"Every sapient has the right to make their decisions. The heretics chose a path that prohibits coexistence." said Legion.

"That doesn't make sense. If they "have the right to make their own decisions," how can you suggest brainwashing them to accept your way?" Austin asked, confused.

"We stated the option exists. We did not endorse it. It is your decision, Shepard-Major." said Legion.

"What's to stop them from using the virus later to change themselves back?" Austin asked.

"We will delete the virus after using it. We judge it too dangerous to allow its existence." Legion replied.

"Why are you letting me make this decision? They're your people. Besides, I'm only a Helldiver soldier. I'm not really meant to make decisions like this." asked Austin.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, brother." Said Sarah.

"I'm not. I'm being honest. It may look easy to you, but it's not easy for me to make these sorts of decisions. Decisions that impact hundreds, not just a mission. Sometimes I wish it didn't fall to me. Choices like this shouldn't fall to one person." said Austin.

"We cannot make this decision ourselves. We are conflicted. There is no consensus among our higher-order runtimes: 573 favour rewrite and 571 favour destruction." said Legion.

"So you have decided. Two more of your runtimes exceed the other choice. So really, you'd prefer us to rewrite them." said Sarah.

Legion was silent for a long moment before finally replying.

"In truth… yes. But the final choice must ultimately be yours. If you choose to destroy them, we will not object." he said.

"If they're… rewritten. Your people will accept them back? Will they even want to go back?" Austin asked.

"They will agree with our judgements and return. We will integrate their experiences. All will be stronger." said Legion.

"Take them, then. When we got control of the core, release the virus."

"Acknowledged."

Legion activated the panel and uploaded the virus.

"Releasing virus. Note: Remote access via high gain transmission required."

"Meaning?" Sarah asked.

"The virus will be sent to heretics in nearby star systems. This station will broadcast a powerful electromagnetic pulse through FTL channels." Legion explained.

"How powerful?" Austin asked.

"Yield in excess of 1.21 petawatts. Alert: EM flux will be hazardous to unshielded organic forms. Addendum: The interior of this station is not shielded." said Legion.

"There's always something." Sarah groaned.

"I really wish you'd said that before. Back to the ship! Double time, people!" said Austin.

Everyone broke into a run. Along the way, they found their path blocked by a few more Geth. Just as the path seemed clear though, a Geth Prime suddenly stood in their way.

"I hate these ones." Sarah groaned as she took cover to avoid the Prime's incoming fire.

"Trust me, Sister. Compared to how the Terror Geth was, these Geth Primes are like simple pushovers." Said Austin, briefly returning fire.

"It's times like these that I'm glad you killed that bastard." Said Sarah.

By working together as a team, they were eventually able to bring the Prime down.

The Normandy quickly sped away just as the virus was fully uploaded. It was done.

* * *

Austin did breath sigh of relief. Assuming his calculations were correct, Legion was the last member of the team. Anyone else was on Alpha Squad and therefore were fully focused. Any distractions they might have had been taken care of many years ago. All that was left now was to simply wait and prepare until the IFF was properly installed.

 _"Major, Tali just went to have a "chat" with Legion. You better get down to the AI core."_ said Joker suddenly.

Austin shook his head. Another argument? He could only hope that this time it was a better outcome.

"I'm on it Joker."

Austin quickly hurried to the AI core. Legion was there along with Tali who had a gun aimed right at his face.

"Austin, I'm glad you're here. I caught Legion scanning my omni tool. It was going to send data about the Flotilla back to the Geth!" she said accusingly.

"Creators performed weapons tests and were discussing plans to attack us. We believed it necessary to warn our people." said Legion.

"We already made the Geth stronger by rewriting the ones that worshipped Nazara! I won't let Legion endanger the Fleet by giving them more information!" Tali retorted.

"Creator Tali Zorah acts out of loyalty to her people. She was willing to be exiled to protect them. We must also protect our people from the Creator threat." said Legion defensively.

"You can't let this happen, Austin! I trusted you, and I worked with a Geth on the team, but this too much!" said Tali angrily.

Austin took a moment, racking his brain to try and find a way of working this out for both sides. Last time something like this had happened, he had lost Miranda's loyalty for a long time. At least with her, he'd been lucky enough to gain it back when she'd seen sense.

With Tali and Legion however, it was a different matter. After a few tense moments however, he finally thought up something that he was sure could diffuse the situation.

"Tali, your father was running brutal experiments. If the subjects had been human, I'd damn well be telling the Alliance about it." he said.

"I know. But if the Geth find out..."

"They'd attack, which would cause a war that would leave both the Quarians and the Geth vulnerable when the Reapers show up. Is that what you want Legion?"

"We believed it was necessary to relay the information." said Legion.

"Sooner or later you're both gonna have to stop fighting this war, or we'll all end up paying for It." said Austin.

There was a brief silence, and then Legion spoke.

"To facilitate unit cohesion, we will not transmit data regarding Creator plans." he said.

Tali seemed to relax at this and lowered his weapon.

"Thank you, Legion. I… understand your intention. What if I gave you some non-classified data to send?" she suggested.

"We would be grateful." Said Legion.

Tali activated her omni tool and gave Legion the data.

Austin breathed another sigh of relief and smiled. That had gone a lot better than he had expected.

* * *

**The Ares Geth was a good point, I'll admit. That was intended as a little teaser for ME3 since that is one of Nazara's mutated Geth. The proper origins of these new Geth will be explained in good time.**

**I was also goign to do an extra bit at the end with Nazara himself, but it had way too many spoilers, so I discarded it.**

**I'll put more effort into the next chapter, I promise.**

**You can say this is a bad chapter if you want, just please don't be too harsh. Even I know this isn't my best work.**


	37. Chapter 37, Darkest Hour

**Much happier with this one now! :)**

**I don't really want to spoil anything, so I'll just say... enjoy!**

**I'd like to also say a huge thanks to Mastermind4892 who not only helped and offered advice for certain scenes but also wrote a scene for this himself.**

**I owe you a lot, my friend! ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 37**

**Darkest Hour**

"Hey, Major. Good news. Looks like the Reaper IFF is finally hooked up and ready to go." Said Joker.

" _That is not entirely accurate, Mr Moreau. The device is powered, but it is causing some unusual instability in other systems. I recommend a more thorough analysis before we attempt to use it."_ Said EDI.

"We can't put our mission on hold forever. How long will this take?" Austin asked as he observed the galaxy map.

"A full scan? Who knows with this thing. Maybe you better take the Hellhound for this mission. I'll make sure we're up and running when you get back." Said Joker.

The Arkanes had given Austin one little mission they wanted him to do. There was a ship that had sent a distress signal after it had been invaded by Geth. The Normandy was the closest, which it rather coincidently often was and so the Arkanes had picked them to assist the ship.

" _Major, Alaara. I've already notified the team. We'll meet you on the shuttle."_

"Then I guess I'll head down to the dropship. Joker, ship's all yours. Take care of her." Said Austin.

Austin would decide on who to take when they docked. He'd even felt it best to take Dell and Sill just to be on the safe side. It was only a couple of Geth, but it was always "better to be safe than sorry" as he always said.

* * *

"I'm telling you, EDI, your readings are off. It's radiation bleed, just white noise." Said Joker worryingly.

Ever since EDI had started testing IFF out on the Normandy's systems, worrying readings had been coming in at his end.

" _I have detected a signal embedded in the static. We are transmitting the Normandy's location."_ Said EDI.

Transmitting? To who?"

His question was quickly answered when a ship suddenly dropped out of a mass effect jump. To the pilot's horror, it was the familiar rock like structure of a Collector ship.

"Oh, shit."

The Collector Ship slowed down as it seemed to instead be attempting to board the Normandy rather than destroy it.

"We're getting out of here!" said Joker urgently. As he effortlessly typed away at the holographic controls however, nothing.

" _Propulsion systems are disabled. I'm detecting a virus in the ship's computers."_ Said EDI.

"From the IFF? Damn it, why didn't you scrub it?!" Joker groaned.

" _Primary defence systems are offline. We can save the Normandy, Mr Moreau, but you must help me."_ Said EDI.

Down in the engineering deck, all of the crew were assuming battle stations. With all the Helldivers and the team gone, they were the only defence the Normandy had now. They all assumed positions in front of the door the Collectors would no doubt be boarding in. The ship suddenly shook hard and the door gently opened to show several Collector troops, guns at the ready.

Joker could feel the Normandy shudder as the Collectors boarded and there was also the distinct sound of fighting that he could just hear coming from below..

" _Give me the ship."_ Said EDI.

"What? You're crazy. You start singing "Daisy Bell" and I'm done." The pilot objected.

" _Unlock my sealed databases, and I can initiate countermeasures. The maintenance shaft in the science lab will allow passage to the AI core."_ Said EDI.

Joker knew he had no choice. What other options did he have? All the systems were offline, the Collectors were boarding and with his condition, there was little he could do to help the crew fight them.

Giving in, he gently got up from his chair.

" _Main corridors are no longer safe." The Collectors have boarded."_ Said EDI. _"The emergency floor lighting will guide you, Mr Moreau."_

"Ah, damn it."

Joker had to make sure he didn't run or the force would crack his legs and then he'd be really screwed. Best he could do was a light jog. It wasn't fast, but hopefully it would do.

As he followed the red lights on the floor, the elvatro door to the CIC opened, emitting a Praetorian.

"Oh my god! What is that?" said one of the crew.

Another one fired a grenade at the massive insect husk, but it did hardly any damage.

"We'll hold it off as long as we can. Hurry, Joker! Go!"

Joker didn't need tobe told twice and continued to the door leading the science lab.

The Praetorin lunged at one of the crew, impaling him on one it's legs. That was the last Joker saw of the fight before he disappeared through the door, but he could still hear the gunfire and screams.

"Shit."

He continued through the science lab, over to a small ladder that would lead into the vents and therefore to the next level down.

Joker very nearly jumped back in fright when he saw another Praetorian through the glass window that overlooked the drive core.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."

* * *

" _Multiple hostiles detected on the crew deck."_

Joker gently got down the ladder until his feet touched the ground of the Life Support room. One other crew member was present in there with a pistol in his hand.

"Joker! This deck is crawling with those things! Stay close – I'll protect you!" he said as he made his way out first.

Just as Joker followed, the body of the crew member was suddenly flung into the air. The elevator was also open with a Scion standing in it, and it had Kelly in its hand. The Yeoman could only struggle and scream as the Husk hauled her inside.

"Shit, shit, shit!"

" _Main fusion plant offline. Activating emergency H-fuel cells."_

"What the shit!"

Joker dared not stop. He felt so guilty in leaving the crew, but he knew there was nothing he could do. He almost felt helpless.

The pilot quickly hurried through the medbay and into the AI core. He resisted the urge to look back in case a Collector or husk happened to be right behind him. The shock would topple him over.

"All right, I'm at, uh, you." He said as the AI core sealed itself and he stepped up to the control panel.

" _Connect the core to the Normandy's primary control module."_ EDI instructed.

"Great. See, this is where it starts, and when we're all just organic batteries, guess who they'll blame?" Joker groaned to himself. " _This is all Joker's fault. What a tool he was. I have to spend all day computing pi because he plugged in the Overlord._ "

There was a brief flash and then everything returned to normal. EDI's avatar then appeared behind Joker, the bright light giving some more illumination to the dark room.

" _I have access to the defensive systems. Thank you, Mr Moreau. Now you must reactivate the primary drive in engineering."_ Said the AI.

"Argh! You want me to go crawling through the ducts again." Joker groaned.

" _I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees."_ Said EDI.

Joker didn't know what to say to that and simply raised his eyebrow.

" _That is a joke."_

"Right."

" _The shaft behind you connects to the engineering deck. Good luck."_

* * *

The cost seemed clear and Joker wasted no time and hurrying up from Jack's usual spot to the drive core room. He was hoping the Praetorian that had been in there had gone.

" _Hostiles are present in engineering. They are heading towards the cargo bay."_ EDI advised.

Sure enough, just as Joker reached the stairs, he saw a shadow moving at the top of them. He did nothing but wait until it was clear. The risk was far too great for him to risk being seen.

After a few tense seconds, the shadows seemed to move on and he heard the sound of a door shutting.

" _Engineering is clear of hostiles. Proceed immediately to minimize chances of detection."_ Said EDI.

Joker hurried up the stairs and into the drive core. There were signs of a fight, but no bodies. The Collectors had obviously planned to take as many prisoners as they could.

" _Activate the drive core and I will open the airlocks as we accelerate. All hostiles will be killed."_ EDI instructed again.

"What? What about the crew?" Joker objected.

" _They are gone, Jeff. The Collectors took them."_

"Shit."

" _I am sealing the engine room."_

The drive core then started to gently hum and then it increased.

" _I have control."_

The Normandy gave a sudden lurch as it accelerated at top speed. The force caused Joker to fall, but it didn't damage his legs.

" _Purge is complete. No other life forms on board. Securing airlocks and cargo bay doors."_

"Send a message to Shepard's shuttle. Tell him what happened." Said Joker as he gently got back up.

" _Message away. Are you feeling well, Jeff?"_ EDI asked.

"No. But thanks for asking."

* * *

The mission had been a success, but the victory was short lived. Everyone had returned immediately as soon as they'd heard what happened.

Joker was currently sat on the table in the briefing room. Miranda then came in, a cross look on her face.

"Everyone? You lost everyone - and damn near lost the ship, too?!" she nearly shouted.

"I know, all right? I was here!" Joker retorted.

"It's not his fault, Miranda. None of us caught it." Said Alaara.

" _Captain T'onrak is correct. The harmful data in the Collector drive was even more sophisticated than the "black box" Reaper virus I was given."_ Said EDI.

"Are you okay, Joker? I heard it was a rough ride." Austin asked.

"There's a lot of empty chairs in here." Joker sighed.

" _We did all we could, Jeff."_ Said EDI reassuringly.

"Yeah, thanks, Mom."

"Is the ship clean? We can't risk this happening again." Austin asked.

"EDI and I purged the system. The Reaper IFF is online. We can go through the Omega 4 Relay whenever you want." Said Joker.

"Don't even get me started about unshackling a dammed AI." Said Miranda.

"What could I do against Collectors, break my arm at them?!" Joker nearly shouted. "EDI cleared the ship. She's all right."

" _I assure you, I am still bound by protocols in my programming. Even if I were not, you are my crewmates."_ Said EDI.

"EDI has had plenty of opportunity to kill us, and she saved my life when she turned against Cerberus and helped me escape from them. We need all the help we can get, now more than ever." Said Austin.

"Sounds like we have everything we need to rescue the crew." Said Alaara.

"I agree. We've done everything we can. It's time to take the fight to the Collectors. I believe you Helldivers have a saying "Give them hell." I believe is the phrase?" said Miranda, her mood slightly brightened.

"You got that right, Miranda." Said Austin. "Joker, head back up to the bridge. The rest of you, to your stations. It's time for us to light our darkest hour!"

"Aye, aye, Major. Just punch up the galaxy map when you're ready." Joker saluted as he and the other returned to their posts.

* * *

Before he made the call, Austin decided to have one last talk with the team.

Mordin was the first one he went to.

"Shepard. How can I help?"

"You got a minute to talk, Mordin."

"Yes. Personal matters on mind, actually. Got call from nephew. Promising geneticist himself. Just turned 16. Got tenure at university. Following in my footsteps." Said the Salarian proudly. "Had to lie about what I was doing. Think he was suspicious. Doesn't' matter. Still good to hear his voice."

"Does anyone in your family know about what you really did for the government?" Austin asked.

"No. Know I'm lying, but won't pry. Salarians curious as a people, but also have social cues. Keep two types of secrets from family. First type personal or guilt-based, invites suspicion, exploration. Puzzle to be solved. Reward for curiosity, intelligence. Drama! Other secrets more serious. Dangerous if discovered. Signals discourage curiosity for protection of family." Mordin explained.

"Why wouldn't everyone give clues that their secrets were too dangerous to be uncovered?" Austin inquired.

"Not conscious. Social. Reflexive body language. Can't fake it. Example: yawning perceived as contagious among humans. Subject observes yawn, sensory input deactivates left periamygdalar region, subject yawns in response. Social empathy. Also works with dogs. Salarian faking signals to discourage curiosity similar to human faking a yawn. Can try, but effectiveness limited." Mordin explained.

"Your nephew got tenure at 16? Is he a genius or a scientific prodigy?" Austin asked, somewhat humorously.

"No. Wait, don't want to insult him. Yes, but not in manner you meant. Remember, Salarian lives short. Mature rapidly by your standards. Don't live much past 40." Said Mordin.

"Are you calling him because you're worried we won't make it back?" Austin asked.

"No. Aware survival unlikely, but have faith in team and you of course. But actually contacted him for family connection. Hard to imagine galaxy. Too many people. Faceless Statistics. Easy to depersonalize. Good when doing unpleasant work. For this fight, want personal connection. Can't anthropomorphize galaxy. But can think of favourite nephew. Fighting for him." Mordin smiled.

"I'm glad you got to talk to family before we finished this. And I'm glad we talked too, Mordin."

"Honoured to be part of this, Shepard. Helped preserve galaxy before with Genophage. Dirty work, ethically ambiguous. Problematic. Collectors mission simpler, cleaner. Will be proud to see it in Mordin Solus biography vid. Unless we all die. Proud posthumously in that case. Regardless… thank you."

* * *

"Shepard." Said Samara.

"Anything new?"

"There is something I've wanted to tell you."

The Justicar stood up and walked up to the window. Austin followed until he stood next to her. They then turned to face each other directly. "I've done many things in my lifetime. I thought the galaxy held nothing new for me. Since joining you, I've realized how much there is. You have been a good friend to me."

"That means a lot to me. I'm honoured to say the same for you, Samara." Austin smiled.

"If we both still live when this is done, you may call upon me for aid at any time. I will come for you, Shepard." Said Samara.

"When the Reapers do eventually arrive, I'll be sure to take you up on that." Said Austin as he and Samara shook hands.

"I will stand with you, no matter the danger, my friend."

* * *

"Shepard." Said Grunt.

"Just checking in. How are you doing?"

"Battlemaster, I have everything. Clan, kin, and enemies to fight. I'm branching out. Got a list of enemies now. They all give me joy when I picture cutting them, crushing them. There's imprint, a Salarian with the - what are they? - things on his head pulled apart. Bet it caused a generation of revenge. What is that, a few weeks for them?" said Grunt. "So, what did you want?"

"You know, I kind of thought connecting with your past would bring stability." Said Austin.

"Ha! See, now we're having fun. Me remembering good deaths, and you with your… funny human thing you're doing. My job is to hurt things. Direction, control - that's your job, Battlemaster. You're why I'm a soldier, not dead or crazed like an animal. Thank you, Shepard. You gave me purpose. Now let's find something big to kill, like an army of Collectors." The Krogan smiled.

"I look forward to seeing what your kill count will be, Grunt."

* * *

"Shepard. Need me for something?" asked Garrus.

"You got a minute, Garrus? I figured I'd chat to everyone one last time before I set us on course."

"Sure. I've been trying to kill the time, anyway. I wanted to thank you again for your help with Sidonis. Whatever happens with the Collectors or the Reapers or whoever else comes after us, I know you'll get the job done." Said Garrus as Austin sat on a nearby crate.

"You actually think we'll find something worse than Collectors or Reapers?" Austin asked.

"I like to expect the worst. There's a small chance I'll be pleasantly surprised." said Garrus.

"I couldn't do this without you, Garrus."

"Sure you could. Not as stylishly, of course." The Turian chuckled. "It's strange going into a suicide mission on a human ship. Your people don't prepare for high-risk operations the way Turians do."

"I thought you'd be used to high-risk operations on human ships. I mean, think about tracking Saren to Ilos." Said Austin.

"Sure, but that was quick. We raced out, blew up some Geth and Thresher Maw Husk, and saved the galaxy. This time we've got all these new faces, two Ex-Cerberus operatives, and that AI all telling us what we're up against. I think I preferred blind optimism." Said Garrus.

"Honestly, Garrus, what do you think our chances are?" Austin asked, a bit more seriously this time.

"Honestly? The Collectors killed you once, and all it did is piss you off. I can't imagine they'll stop you this time. Besides, your old Squad is with us and that certainly increases our chances to the point where I doubt there's any chance of this failing." Said Garrus, almost with pure confidence.

"Do you… regret leaving C-sec or the Turian military?" Austin asked.

"Not for a minute, especially when I'm wearing this armour. When it comes to it, Shepard, I don't think I'm a very good Turian." Said Garrus, a small hint of regret in his voice. "When a good Turian hears a bad order, he follows it. He might complain, but he knows his place. I just don't see the point in staying quiet and polite. Not when the galaxy is at stake."

"How do Turian crews get ready for high-risk missions?" Austin asked curiously.

"With violence, usually. Turian ships have more operational discipline than your Alliance, but fewer personal restrictions. Our commanders run us tight, and they know we need to blow off steam. Turian ships have training rooms for exercise, combat sims, even full-contact sparring. Whatever lets people work off stress." Garrus explained.

"You mean Turian ships have crewmen fighting each other before a mission?" Austin asked, surprised as what he'd heard.

"It's supervised, of course. Nobody's is going to risk an injury that interferes with the mission. And it's a good way to settle grudges amicably. I remember right before one mission, we were about to hit a Batarian pirate squad. Very risky. This recon scout and I had been at each other's throats. Nerves, mostly. She suggested we settle it in the ring." Said Garrus.

"I assume you took her down gently?"

"Actually, she and I were the top-ranked hand-to-hand specialists on the ship. I had reach, but she had flexibility. It was brutal. After nine rounds, the judge called it a draw. There were a lot of unhappy betters in the training room. We, ah, ended up holding a tiebreaker in her quarters. I had reach, but she had flexibility. More than one way to work off stress, I guess."

Austin laughed at this, which made Garrus smile a bit. Admittedly, it was a good joke.

"Then again, judging by the many times we've heard sounds coming from your quarters, I think you're already familiar with that." chuckled. chuckled.

"Watch it, Vakarian." Austin chuckled. "Still, I never thought you'd be the ladies' man type, Garrus."

"Guess I picked up a few bad habits from you, Shepard." Garrus smiled.

"Thanks for the talk, Garrus. I'll see you later."

"Sure thing."

Austin went to leave, but Garrus quickly called to him.

"And Shepard… Whatever happens out there, I am, and always will be honoured that I got to serve and fight alongside not just you, but you're squad."

"We'll all give the Collector's hell, Garrus. That I can promise." Said Austin confidently.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we gave them their version of the apocalypse." Garrus grinned.

"Heh, don't start stealing my sense of humour, Garrus." Said Austin.

* * *

Austin went into the Life Support next to find Thane in his usual meditations pot.

"Do you need something?" the Drell asked.

"Have a few minutes to talk?"

"Of course, Shepard. Join me."

Austin sat down in front of Thane.

"Still talking to Kolyat?" he asked.

"Yes. It's still difficult. But he seems less angry. Will you hear my confession, Shepard?"

"I wouldn't talk to you if I didn't want to hear what you have to say."

"When I married Irikah, the Hanar let me leave their service to raise a family. But I had no other skills, so I freelanced. When Irikah was killed, I pursued those responsible. Once I'd eliminated them, I had no goal. I accepted the Dantius commission because I didn't know what else to do." Thane explained.

"I guess you're lucky we came along when we did." Said Austin positively.

"It was an intervention by the gods. I would have died in that penthouse. I would have fulfilled my contract. If Nassana's guards caught me afterwards – it would have been a good death. But someone else was pushing to reach the target. Forcing me to move faster. Challenging me. I had to reach her first." Said Thane.

"I had no idea you'd planned to die in there." Said Austin, surprised.

"It wasn't a plan. My body had accepted its death. My mind had been dead a long time. Your mission gave me purpose. A cause to die for. A chance to atone. I was able to speak to my son again. I can leave my body in peace." Thane smiled.

"You've had a hard life. You deserve some peace." Said Austin.

"Whatever may happen, my gun is yours."

* * *

Austin headed down to Jack's hiding hole. He knew that she and Kelly had been close. She'd been far too quiet after hearing that all of the crew had been taken.

"Jack?" he asked cautiously.

The convict didn't seem to take notice of him and simply continued staring at the floor.

"Jack, look, I… I know how much Kelly meant to you. We'll get her back, I promise." Said Austin, trying to sound reassuring.

"I know." Jack eventually said. "But that doesn't make me feel any better."

"I…"

"Just leave me alone, Shepard. You once said I should save my anger for the Collectors, we'll let me do that. Just let me vent my anger on those bastards for taking her." Jack simply said.

Austin felt it best not to argue with Jack. In a way, she was also right. If she was angry at the Collectors, it might give them the advantage.

"Okay. I understand." He said. "But if you want to talk at all, don't hesitate to come to me."

"Alright, I get it. Just please leave me alone." Said Jack.

* * *

It was time. Austin walked up to the galaxy map and selected the Omega 4 Relay.

 _"Please confirm destination, Shepard. The Reaper IFF is online, but there is a chance that the Normandy may not survive the Omega 4 Relay. Once we are en route, we are committed."_ said EDI.

"The Collectors took our people. It's time to go get them back." said Austin.

"You got it, Major. Plotting course for the Omega 4 Relay. ETA about 5 hours. I'll let you know when we arrive." said Joker.

* * *

Austin simply lay on the bed looking up into the vastness of space from the sky window in his quarters. He could not deny that he was nervous. His heart was beating a little faster than usual and he was sure he could feel just the tiniest hints of his body shaking.

What would they find beyond that Relay? Could they succeed? Would they be coming back alive?

The Helldiver quickly pushed these thoughts from his head. He shouldn't think like that. He had great faith in his squad and this fine team he'd put together. He let determination slowly take over. He hadn't come all this way just to fail now! He hadn't been in a coma for two years just so that he could die again. They would be coming back from this mission, with their crew, alive, and the Collectors exterminated. If fate decreed otherwise, it could go to hell for all he cared.

His confident thoughts and contemplation were then interrupted when he heard the doors open. He looked up to see the love of his life walking towards him. Liara smiled at her bond mate as she descended the stairs, doing her best to sound calm even though she now felt the same way she had felt 3 years ago before the battle of Ilos.

"I thought I might find you here." She said.

"I know. That's why I came here." Austin smiled as he sat up on the bed.

Their connection to one another had continued to grow stronger and stronger all the time. With each time they consummated their love for one another joined minds, their bond continued to grow. It had now come to the point where they could practically anticipate each other.

Liara walked up to her bond mate and sat down next to him.

"So this is it. This is what it's all been building up to." She said. "Nervous?"

"Not really." Austin replied confidently, his mind now clearer thanks to his earlier thoughts and the fact that he now had Liara sitting right next to him. "You?"

"No." Liara replied.

After a moment however, she quickly rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hold me." She said.

"Hey, it's okay." Said Austin reassuringly as he put his hand around Liara and held her hand with his other. "I have faith and everyone. We'll make it through this."

This seemed to cheer Liara up and she looked into Austin's brown eyes.

"You're very brave. I don't know how you do it sometimes." She said.

"You're what primarily keeps me going, love. I don't know where I'd be without you." Said Austin.

"You sure do know how to cheer me up." Liara smiled as she gave Austin a kiss on the cheek.

A question then popped into Austin's mind. Should he do it?

While he had faith that this would not be a suicide mission, there was still that tiny little voice in the back of his head that was saying there was every chance they could die. He briefly looked down at the small lump in his pocket. Would now really be such a bad time? It would bolster both their spirits and it gave them both something to truly fight for and look forward to when it was over. Austin couldn't' help but smile a tiny bit when he heard another voice in his head telling him one thing.

" _If you're gonna do this, then do it."_

"What are smiling about?"

Austin's mind snapped back to reality. With his mind made up, he turned to Liara while he right hand reached into his pocket.

"I have something I'd like to ask you." He said.

"Oh really? And what would that be? Wouldn't' happen to be "how would like to spend the night?" Liara asked.

To the Asari's utter astonishment however, Austin did not say that. The Helldiver slid of the bed, got down on one knee and brought out the small box that had been in his pocket.

"Liara T'soni, if we make it through this… If we destroy the Collectors and walk out alive…"

The box opened.

"…will you marry me?"

Liara was left completely lost for words. She just couldn't find her voice as she stared at the sliver ring with an Azure stone sitting comfortably in the box. A happy tear managed to escape from her eye and trickled down her cheek.

"I… I… Yes, Austin. I will." She said.

Before Austin could speak, Liara suddenly threw her arms around him and crushed her lips against his. When they finally separated, he took a sharp intake of air.

"How long have you had this?" Liara asked as she looked closer at the Prothean markings on the ring's silver band.

"Quite a while, actually. It was just a matter of deciding when the time was right." Said Austin, almost in relief that Liara had said yes. He hadn't doubted that she'd accept, but in a way it still felt almost like a dream.

"It's beautiful! I didn't think they made rings out of Prothean metal anymore." Liara smiled.

"Seemed like the perfect ring for you. Prothean band, and an Azure stone in the middle." Said Austin.

"I hope you didn't mean that in a sexual way." Said Liara suggestively. "You do remember that the word Azure has a different meaning among Asari."

"How could I forget after I've taken you that many times in it?" Austin smiled slyly. He then fished inside his jacket and pulled a small piece of paper out. "If we're going to truly commit to this, then we need to sign this as well."

"What is it?" Liara asked curiously.

"Nothing much. Just a form." Said Austin as he unfolded the piece of paper. "It took a great deal of research, quite a few calls to some very important people and even asking Alaara and Sandra for advice, but I got it in the end. As you know, Helldivers are allowed to pursue relationships with each other if they choose. If they want to take it to take it to the next step however, one or two things need to be done."

Austin noticed Liara's concerned expression however and quickly made sure to properly explain in order to calm her.

"Don't worry, it's nothing extreme. All this form basically does is it officially allows us to marry and have children if we so choose. Alaara and Sandra had to sign it before they got married, and I was hoping you and I could sign together, here and now." He explained.

"You went through all that just to get this for us?" Liara smiled.

"What can I say? I'm madly in love with you and I made a promise that I'd marry you. People do crazy things when they're in love." Said Austin.

"Couldn't have put it better myself." Liara smiled. "I'd love to sign this with you."

The two lovers kissed one another as Austin took a pen form his jacket and handed it and the form to his future wife. The Asari didn't even hesitate in signing her name. She then handed it back to him and he did the same.

"And there we go. Our marriage can now be official." He said.

"Goddess… I can't believe this is actually happening. I fear than any second I'm going to wake up and this'll all be a dream." Said Liara.

Austin smiled slyly at this. His hand reached around Liara and grasped her behind.

"I guarantee you, Liara. This is really happening." He smiled.

"I love you so much, Austin." Liara sighed.

Austin then took the ring from out of its box and gently slid it onto Liara's finger.

"I love you too… my future wife." He smiled. "Now, then. Since that's all out of the way. I was thinking… if you're not busy…"

Before he could finish however, Liara suddenly threw him down on the bed and kissed him like never before.

"Just try and stop me." Said the Asari flirtingly.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Said Austin.

"Make love to me, Austin! We've always talked of making this night something we'll remember forever, let's not disappoint each other."

"I'm all yours, Liara."

"Embrace Eternity."

* * *

Kasumi was sat on the sofa in her usual spot, simply looking out into space. She was just about to consider going to Jacob, when the door suddenly opened. Speak of the devil, there he was.

"Kasumi? Look at this – sneaking into your quarters. Heavy risk, but the prize…" he said slyly.

Kasumi simply smiled and stood up.

"I was wondering when you'd show. What's your intention, Jacob?" she said flirtingly.

"To give the Collectors every kind of hell I can, suicide or not. But until then, I want all the time I can get. Win, lose, doesn't matter. I want you." Said Jacob as he walked up to the thief and took her hand in his.

"Sounds like you better make every minute count, Mr Taylor." Kasumi smiled.

Jacob complied and stepped back. He then pulled his shirt up over his body, exposing his muscular chest to Kasumi.

"Very nice. Those exercises I've occasionally spied on you doing have been put to good use." The thief smiled.

Jacob pulled Kasumi into his arms and kissed her. Just as they both fell back onto the sofa (all they had since the room didn't have a bed) Jacob felt Kasumi's hand gently sneak into his pocket.

"I don't' know why you've got your hand down there, Kasumi. I haven't got any creds on me." He said.

"I may have my hand in your pocket, but I'm not looking for credits." Kasumi winked.

* * *

Jack was still sat in the same place, looking down at the floor. She dreaded to imagine what the Collectors planned to do with the crew, especially Kelly. She hoped she wouldn't find out. She'd kill every last Collector who tried to keep her from the one person she had grown to truly love in her love. The one who had managed to break through the barriers she'd put up over the years, and seen who she really was.

After many long minutes, she got bored of simply staring at the floor. Sighing, she activated her omni tool which projected several images of Kelly and her together. One was even of Jack teasingly removing Kelly's outfit.

"I'll kill every single one of those Mother Fucker's for taking you, Kelly." She said. "The last thing they'll know in this life is just how much they can suffer when I become pissed off."

She smiled at the pictures for almost an hour before she finally decided she needed to rest and prepare herself for the coming battle. As she turned off her omni-tool, Jack gave an idle thought to what they're up against: A mission with supposedly suicidal odds against an ancient race possessing super-advanced technology that answer to a bunch of giant metal squid-like spaceships that have killed untold numbers of people?

Jack smiled grimly as her biotics flared as if in agreement with her murderous intentions.

"Yeah? Well, wait till they get a load of me."

* * *

Ventra was in his own quarters checking on his arrow stocks. He had the main box attached to his bow and he had more of these which carried on his back so that when the current one ran out, he could then simply change it for another full set of arrows.

He made sure each one was in perfect condition and ready for battle. They couldn't afford any mistakes or unforeseen problems that might happen, especially on this mission.

Just as the Turian sat down on his bed, ready to get some shut eye, the door suddenly opened to admit a very welcome face.

"Ventra."

"Leena."

The Quarian Helldiver sat down next to the Turian she'd slowly grown to love over almost 13 years now.

"Still a bit on edge?" she asked.

"You could say that." Ventra sighed.

"We've been through things like this many times and we've always come through. I see no reason why that should change now. Shepard will get us through this, I know he will." Said Leena, putting her hand on top of Ventra's reassuringly.

"You know… it's been a while now since we started this relationship and I've never seen your face. I often do wonder what you really look like." Ventra suggested.

"Are you asking me to take my helmet off?" Leena asked teasingly. "Because if you are, I'd be happy to take off a bit more just for tonight."

"Didn't think you'd be the sort to act sexy." Ventra smiled.

"Let's just say that a very handsome Turian came along one day and slowly brought the best of my back out onto the surface." Said Leena.

"Won't you get sick form this though? I don't' want to risk your health." Said Ventra, his tone now changing to concern.

"I've taken every precaution and minimized the risks. Antibiotics, urbal supplements, you name it. I may still get sick, but being with you tonight definitely won't kill me." Said Leena reassuringly.

"This is beginning to sound like a scene out of that Fleet and Flotilla movie." Said Ventra as he reached up to take of Leena's mask.

"Don't give me ideas, Prarken." Leena chuckled.

The Quarian deactivated the seals on her helmet and allowed Ventra to gently detach her visor. The visor hissed as it detached and for the very first time in her life, Leena felt cool air on her face.

Ventra was lost for words when he finally saw the face of the Quarian he'd grown to love.

"Spirits… you're beautiful."

Leena then pulled Ventra in close and kissed him, for the very first time in her life.

"I've waited so long to do that." She sighed when they finally stopped for air.

The Quarian then pushed Ventra down onto the bed and begun the process of taking off everything else.

"This will totally be worth it."

* * *

Alaara was bored. She was sat in her quarters, alone. Silence didn't really suit her. She always preferred to be busy, or even better sex with her wife.

The Asari then suddenly heard the door opened, and the person she'd just been thinking about stood in the door way. She seemed to have her shirt unbuttoned slightly to expose her cleavage. That alone was enough to start getting Alaara aroused.

"Permission to come in, Captain?" he saluted jokingly.

"Thought I told you that you don't need to call me that in private." Alaara grinned.

"Old habits die hard." Sandra smiled.

The human sat down on the sofa next to her wife and kissed her on the cheek.

"So… seeing as this is going to be a special night, why don't I let you pick something for us to do for change?" Alaara smiled.

"Sure. I brought a movie." Sandra suggested as she held up the cover of a somewhat familiar movie.

"Vaenia? Again? Ah, why not? It always is my favourite." Said Alaara.

The two sat in silence for a long while as they watched the movie. Sandra soon seemed to notice that her bond mate didn't look as happy as normal.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Just a bit nervous is all. We've been through tons of suicide mission before, but this… this is nothing we were ever trained for." Alaara sighed.

"Shepard won't let us down. He wasn't our successful leader for 10 years just to fail now. Besides, you also led us for two years. This squad couldn't' ask for a better second in command." Said Sandra as she put her hand on Alaara's lap.

"Thanks, darling. I can't tell you how much it means to hear you say that." Alaara smiled.

"Is that why you've suddenly been acting more mature than usual these days? Because you've been unsure of what everyone else thinks of you as second in command?" Sandra asked, almost in surprise.

"In some ways, yes. Also, the realities of command change you in some way. Let's just say that being the leader of Alpha for a time opened my eyes a bit. Helped me see things how Shepard sees them." Alaara admitted.

"You never let us down, Alaara, and as long as I'm fighting by your side, you never will." Said Sandra.

At that moment, the movie started playing it's well known love scene.

"This is my favourite part of the movie." Alaara smiled as watched the two Asari actors start to undress and have sex. "I used to masturbate to this sex scene a lot."

"Don't let me stop you now. In fact… I'd love to join in." said Sandra seductively as her hand sneaked around Alaara's waist.

"Goddess, how I love you Sandra." Alaara sighed, arousingly.

"I love you too, Alaara." Said Sandra.

"Call me your dirty little Asari again, like you used to. It's been a while." Alaara almost begged.

"Make me." Sandra smiled naughtily.

Sandra's hands sneaked around her wife and firmly grapsed her behind, electing a squek of pleasure from the sexy Asari.

"Aaaah! Oh, you are gonna get a major spanking for that!" said Alaara challengingly as she started work on tearing Sandra's top off.

"Bring it on, my dirty little Asari."

"That's more like it."

* * *

Tali was typing away at the holographic projections of the engine. It felt very lonely without Gabby and Ken with her. She'd really grown to like those two, especially after she and Austin had played a game of poker with them (which Austin had rather cleverly beaten Ken at by telling him to "be gentle on the rookie" Austin of course was far from a rookie when it came to things like Skyllian Five Poker)

Tali was interrupted from her engine work when she suddenly noticed a Turian figure standing behind her.

"Hey, Tali." Said Garrus.

"Hello, Garrus. What are you doing down here?" Tali asked in surprise. She hadn't expected the Turian to be here, but she was happy to see him.

"I… uh, how do I say this?" said Garrus, somewhat nervously.

"Is something wrong?" Tali asked.

"Well, I just thought you might be a bit lonely down here." Garrus explained. "Look… we both served on the original Normandy and you've been a good friend. I have faith that Shepard will get us through this, but there's still every chance we might not be coming back from this. These could be our last moments."

"What are you asking exactly?" said Tali.

"I just thought we could spend these last moments together. You know, just as friends? Certainly better than spending the hours alone, wouldn't you say?" Garrus suggested.

"I… Thank you, Garrus. That's very thoughtful of you. You're right. It certainly is better than spending the hours alone. And you are a very good friend." Tali smiled under her helmet. "I'd love to spend my last moments with my best friend."

Garrus had his own quarters on the Normandy which had a nice little view out into space. The two sat down on the sofa and Garrus poured out some dextro DNA wine for the both of them.

"You know, this actually reminds of the times on the Citadel three years ago. You ever miss those talk we had on the elevators?" Garrus asked.

"No." Tali simply replied.

"Come on. Remember how we'd all ask you about life on the Flotilla? It was an opportunity to share." Said Garrus.

"I'm not talking about this, Garrus."

"Tell me again about your immune system."

"I have a shotgun..." said the Quarian, warningly.

"Okay. I'll drop it." Said Garrus quickly.

After a few minutes, Tali leant back on the sofa and relaxed a bit.

"Thanks, Garrus. This was a good idea. Of all the people I could spend my last moments with, I'm glad it's you." She said.

"Me too, Tali. Me too." Garrus smiled.

* * *

After saying his daily prayer before bed, (customary due to him being Christian) Griffin had one last thing he wished to do before getting some much needed rest for the coming battle, and that was contacting the woman he'd really grown to love, Ashley Williams.

He walked up to his holo communicator and turned it on.

"Connect me through to Ashley Madeline Williams of the Alliance." He said.

There was a brief pause as the connection was established. A holographic projection of Ashley than appeared out of the device. She looked happy to see Griffin, but at the same time concerned. They usually chatted with each other every three days and they had only just talked yesterday.

" _Griffin? Is something wrong?! We only called each other yesterday."_ She asked worriedly.

"The, uh… the Normandy got boarded by the Collectors while we were planet-side. They took all the crew except Joker. We're going to get them back." Griffin explained.

" _Oh. I see. So you and Shepard are really gonna do it? You're going through the Omega 4 Relay?"_ Ashley asked.

"Yeah. I thought I'd call one last time. I'm sure the Lord will grant us victory, but still…" said Griffin.

" _Yeah, I know. In a way, I feel the same."_ Said Ashley. _"Be safe out there, Griff. Come back alive, and… bring my friend back with you."_

"You have my word, Ash." Griffin smiled.

Just as he went to end the call though, Ashley stopped him.

" _Wait! Before I go, I just wanna say… I love you."_

Griffin was deeply touched by this. He'd hoped to hear those words for a while now. He slowly reached out and touched the hologram, his fingers going right through it.

"I wish you were really here so I could touch you one last time." He said. "And I love you too."

* * *

Liara yearned for her bond mate's touch as they hurriedly removed their clothes. Liara couldn't' help but feel as though she was about to be completed as she became one with Austin once again. Something about their constant bonding had made her body so receptive to his touch.

The Asari's eyes once again went black as they initiated their Union. Liara suddenly felt as if she'd found where she belonged, as if she'd finally reunited with a part of herself. Despite the fact that she knew that they'd still meld often in the future, she still didn't want the Union to end.

Austin lowered Liara gently onto his shaft to fully complete their love. Aside from the extra pleasure it now brought them both, it also made them feel so fulfilled, and complete.

Both their minds and nervous systems recognized each other. When they really felt in the mood, their bodies anticipated and properly prepared for it at almost any time.

The muscles in Liara's Azure had become used to the length and girth of Shepard's shaft, and having slowly adjusted themselves accordingly. Not only was Austin's length now able to slide in without any resistance, no matter how tight she was or even if she wasn't wet enough, but it was now a "perfect fit".

They weren't hard or rough this time at all. Tonight it was just slow, gentle and tender. They were going to savour every second of this night. It was almost like they were reliving the night before Ilos when they had first truly committed to each other and become full bond mates.

With each gentle push Austin made into Liara, she moaned in gentle pleasure. For some reason it actually felt better this way than when they were usually more wild with one another. The feelings of pleasure seemed to last a lot longer as well as Austin was slowly push in, hold for a moment, and then gently withdraw only to thrust back in again.

They refused to separate for air as they kissed, both enjoying the taste of one another as they ran their hands over each other's skin. In all their lives, they'd never felt truly at peace. This was pure heaven for the both of them.

As their minds entangled with one another and they truly became one, Liara began to feel something new. Something about this particular Union seemed almost… different.

The level of depths they were going to was so much more than before, as though they were each sifting through each over right down the very core.

" _By the Goddess. How are we doing this?"_ she thought in her head, forgetting that Austin could hear her speak in her head while they were joined.

" _I don't know, but I'm loving it. You always make it so easy for me to escape reality. I can't tell how tempting it is to just remain like this forever and leave everything else behind."_ He said.

" _If our meld is becoming his strong though, she should be careful. Sometimes your people can become pregnant by accident when their bond becomes this intimate."_ Liara thought, gently moaning out load as Austin continued thrusting gently into her, her Azure was wetter and wetter with each thrust. She feared she might end up with release to quickly from the amount of pleasure she and her bond mate were feeling.

" _It'll be fine, love. I think we've earned the right to enjoy each other fully, and not just in a physical way."_ Said Austin as one of his hands caressed Liara's breasts electing a small sigh of pleasure from the Asari.

Austin couldn't' deny that even after this many times of melding with her, it did still feel a little weird to actually speak to Liara without using his mouth. Even in this day and age, he always doubted whether telepathy was a reality.

" _You say the sweetest things, my love."_ Liara thought as she slid her tongue into their kiss. Austin was happy to oblige.

They did nothing but slowly make love and kiss passionately as the minutes ticked by. For now, Liara was on top, but that all changed Austin flipped them over so he now had his future wife underneath him.

He focused some of his attention on her breasts as she touched his face passionately from the pleasure he was giving her. As Austin continued to gently thrust into Liara, her hands moved downwards and touched his muscular chest.

The Helldiver lowered himself down and once again kissed Liara, savouring the feel of her lips on his. Liara once again touched his face affectionately, feeling his long brown hair. Even today, after the hundreds of times that she'd woken up to the sight of his face, she still could not get over how incredibly handsome he was. Despite the number of scars he had, this failed to diminish him at all, in fact it only added to how dashing he was. Any other women would faint at the sight of him. She'd been an exception.

Austin's mouth trailed slightly lower and he started slowly planting kisses first on her cheek, then down her neck until he reached her left breast. Liara couldn't help but moan in pleasure. She was impressed that she'd managed not to orgasm from that alone. She truly did love it when her bond mate was tender with her like that.

After several long hours of tender kissing and romance, they could both feel they were nearing their release.

" _We're both close, my love."_ Liara moaned in her mind.

The thought that they'd be spending their lives together, made Liara experience something. There was something about tonight's orgasms that made them so much more. Not only were they stronger and more intense, but something about them suddenly seemed so much more fulfilling, so happy. After her very last orgasm for the night, the sheer pleasure, bliss and ecstasy in her orgasmic afterglow while she was still clinging to her future husband, made her emotions so high that she didn't notice that her biotics were slowly lifting them into the air. Austin soon noticed this.

" _Err… Liara? Is this meant to be happening?"_ he asked telepathically.

Liara opened her eyes and noticed what was happening. Quickly realizing that she was doing it, she gently put them back down again on the bed.

" _How many hours do we have left?"_ she asked, trying to forget what she'd accidently done.

Austin looked at the clock. They'd been making love for about 2 hours now and had three left. They should use those hours wisely and rest.

" _We've got three left till we arrive. I'd recommend we sleep. I'm more than happy to continue making love to you in our minds of course."_ He said.

Liara smiled and simply rested on her bond mate's chest, her breasts pressing against him.

"I love you, Austin." She sighed as she drifted off.

"I love you too, Liara."

* * *

Sarah simply stared out of the window in her quarters. She almost felt a tiny bit lonely. She'd seen her brother with a ring in his pocket recently and seeing as how she'd spotted Liara heading up to his quarters just a few minutes ago, she had a feeling she knew what was going on.

Eventually deciding to get some sleep, she shrugged off her red dressing gown, and now in nothing but her red underwear, gently got into bed.

Sarah slowly drifted off wondering about if she'd be alone for the rest of her life. Her brother had found someone, why hadn't she? She was strong, intelligent, attractive... why couldn't she find anyone?!

_A smooth hand touched her back, gently, soothingly. She could feel a presence behind her, but dared not move. Gentle arms encircled her, slowly lifting her body off the floor and into their soothing embrace. The stranger held her, stroking her back tenderly. She tried to look up, to see the face of her enigmatic caretaker, but it was already slipping away. The scene dissolved, leaving Sarah alone once again._

Sarah awoke with the warmth of the entity's embrace still lingering on her skin. She couldn't remember the dream, but the dried tear stains down her cheeks indicated it had somehow affected her. She also saw that she seemed to have awoken bolt upright and with her hand reaching for her nether regions. It was a shame she couldn't' remember what she'd been dreaming about.

Flexing her muscles to alleviate the stiffness, she rose to her feet and, remembering the events of yesterday, glanced at her omni-tool's clock display. To her shock, she had slept for nearly 5 hours. They'd be approaching the Relay very soon.

Despite not remembering her dream, she did feel somewhat more happier. Almost as though she'd been at peace for a while.

Regardless, she now felt prepared for what was to come. She would stand at her brother's (and hopefully her new sister in law's) side as well, as they took on the Collectors. Not only had those creatures taken the crew, but they had robbed her of Austin two years ago.

It was time for some payback!

* * *

Both Austin and Liara gently woke from their sleep. They were approaching the Relay soon. Everyone would be getting ready by now.

"We're there already?" Liara yawned.

"Afraid so, love." Said Austin as he gave Liara a good morning kiss.

"You feeling okay?" Liara asked.

"I've been through these sort of situations before. Having you by my side also helps. I wouldn't be the same if I didn't have you along for this." Austin smiled.

"I'm glad I became a Helldiver." Said Liara.

"As am I."

Austin gently got up from the bed and started putting his suit mesh on. As he did, their Union bond finally ended. It almost brought tears to Liara's eyes, like a part of herself had been severed from her forever. The fact that her future husband was standing in front of her though prevented her from becoming depressed or anything like that. Not to mention that they could still feel each other in their minds.

"Better suit up. They'll be waiting for us." said Austin as he threw Liara's mesh to her.

"To tell you the truth, I actually want to just get this done so then we can sot our wedding out." Said Liara.

"I'm glad I decided to ask now rather than later." Said Austin.

Once the two had finally zipped up their mesh outfits, the familiar arms came out of the floor and started assembling their armours, piece by piece.

Within just a few seconds, they were both suited up and ready for the battle ahead.

Before they put their helmets on, they took one last moment to be in each other's arms.

"Whatever happen out there, you mean everything to me, Liara. You always will." Said Austin.

"Austin… I am yours." Said Liara.

The two kissed one final time before the helmets assembled.

"Now… let's give the Collectors hell!"

* * *

**I don't know how long it will take me to do the next one, but I'm sure it'll be worth the wait.**

**Few things I'll jsut quickly say.**

**The wedding will take place after LOTSB (which is after the suicide mission) and the bit with Sarah (beautifully written by Mastermind4892) is also a reference to the romance she'll eventually find right at the end of ME2. For those of you who already know who it is, consider that a little teaser.**

**I'm hoping for some good reviews for this chapter. I spent a lot more effort on it, had a lot of fun writing it, and I'm more than satisfied with the finished version.**

**Look forward to seeing what you have to say.**


	38. Chapter 38, The Point of No Return

**I still can't believe we've finally got to this bit! :)**

**Very little I can say really. Although I would like to once again thank Mastermind4892 for his contribution to this chapter by writing Shepard's first speech. (I did the second one myself)**

**Enjoy! This one'll be a blast!**

* * *

**Chapter 38**

**The Point of No Return**

The Arkane Council observed Austin's hologram. Even they could not deny they were somewhat anxious about the next few hours. Who knew how this mission was going to turn it. Would it be victory, or a blood bath?

"Shepard. We wish we had more information for you. We don't like you heading through that Relay blind. But we have no choice." Said Spartan.

"You need not worry, Council. I'm not going alone. I've got my old squad and some of the best working with me. If we stick together, we'll make it." Said Austin positively.

"We knew your suit brought you back for a reason. We tend not to have favouritism for certain Helldivers, but we definitely make an exception for you. We've never seen a better leader." Said Tarnack.

"The first human Helldiver to take a ship through the Omega 4 Relay and survive. Despite the danger, it's a great opportunity." Said Avaritia, another female council member.

"Don't forget why I'm going through the Relay, Councillors. This isn't a field trip. We're going to destroy the Collectors! To stop their attacks on humanity." Said Austin defensively.

"Understood. But still impressive." Said another Councillor, Necrosis.

"We just wanted you to know, we appreciate the risk you're taking. Humanity couldn't ask for a better hero." Said Tarnack.

"Be careful, Shepard. Give the Collectors hell!" said Spartan.

* * *

Ahead was the glowing red Omega 4 Mass Relay. Its red colour and warning signs alone showed the danger it had. Despite this though, Austin remained calm. Spending the night with his new future wife had really got him well focused for the fight ahead.

He was on the bridge standing next to Joker. Alaara was also stood not too far behind him.

"Approaching Omega 4 Relay. Everybody stand by." Said Joker.

"Let's make it happen." Said Austin.

The holographic display lit up as Joker activated the IFF.

"And here we…go." Said Joker.

" _Reaper IFF activated. Signal acknowledged."_ Said EDI.

 _"Major. The drive core just lit up like a Christmas Tree."_ Said Jacob.

 _"Drive Core electrical charge at critical levels."_ EDI warned.

"Rerouting!"

The Normandy sped at full speed towards the Relay. The familiar energy sound could be heard and then the ship was once again propelled forward.

 _"Brace for deceleration."_ said EDI after just a few seconds.

As soon as they did slow down however, hundreds of pieces of wrecked ship appeared in front of them. Joker was only just able to react in time.

"Oh shit!"

The Normandy just managed to miss all the major bits of the debris without a scratch. For now, they were in the clear.

"Too close." said Joker, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Way too close." Austin agreed.

The Helldiver looked out of the window into the vastness of the galactic core. Sure enough, it was as it had been described. Black holes and exploding suns. In addition to this, there were the wreckage's of hundreds of thousands of different ships. It was in a way a bit haunting. It was like looking at a massive graveyard of ships.

"These must be all the ships that tried to make it through the Omega 4 Relay. Some look ancient." said Joker.

 _"I have detected an energy signature near the edge of the accretion disc."_ said EDI.

Through some small gaps in the debris, they could make out something. It looked different to the wreckage, complete almost.

"Has to be the Collector Base. Take us in for a closer look. Nice and easy." said Austin.

The Normandy maintained a steady speed traveling through the debris. Only a few short minutes into it however, the alarms suddenly sounded.

 _"Careful, Jeff. We have company."_ EDI warned.

Austin looked out of the window to see what looked like several small sphere drones chasing them and firing beams at them. Must be some sort of drone defence for the Collectors.

"Taking evasive maneuvers." said Joker.

The Normandy started making all sorts of sharp turns to avoid these Oculus'. Joker then swung the Normandy around and headed straight at them.

"They're just pissing me off." he said, firing the Normandy's two guns in the process and managing to take out two of them. Dell's auto turret system was also being put to good effect. "EDI, take these bastards out!"

The ship shook violently as one of the beams hit the Normandy. There was no explosion sound though.

"As long as the new plating holds." said Alaara.

"Want another round? Come on, girl. Let's give it to 'em." said Joker.

Once again, the Normandy took evasive manoeuvres and the Oculus' chased them. It was brief before another alert sounded.

 _"Alert! Hull breach on engineering!"_ said EDI.

"It's in the cargo hold!" said Joker as a hologram of the Normandy appeared with the cargo hold flashing red.

"We'll deal with it. You keep the rest of them off our tail. Alaara, you stay here." said Austin.

"Aye, aye Major."

* * *

The Oculus hadn't wasted any time, it seemed. The cargo hold was an absolute mess. Dell's workstation was practically destroyed, as was the simulator and the Hammerhead had come loss from its clamps. The dropship still looked okay though.

Dell and Sill had taken cover behind the cargo bays control panel. Dell had a Helldiver assault rifle (which he'd learned how to use in case of an emergency, especially since he made them) and Sill also had a small pistol.

"You two alright?" Austin asked as he joined them.

The Oculus was still hovering overhead, scanning for targets.

"Yeah. But that thing is making a mess of everything." Dell complained.

Dash hopped over the edge and took cover behind a nearby crate. The Oculus seemed to notice him and fired a beam in his direction. It missed, but it still took a lot of Dell's equipment which elected an angry shout from the Arkane Quartermaster.

"HEY! I NEEDED THAT!"

The Oculus once again fired another beam in their direction which they were just narrowly able to avoid. Austin immediately returned fire, but his Revenant didn't seem to do any significant damage.

"We're gonna need a bigger gun." said Sill.

The Oculus hovered around a bit before retreating back through the hole it had entered through earlier.

 _"We're sitting ducks out here. I have to try to lose them in the debris field."_ Said Joker over the comm.

* * *

The Normandy headed into the field of debris and slowed down slightly so that Joker had enough time to react. It was almost exactly the same as flying through an Asteroid field.

The chasing Oculus' didn't seem to be as fast with their reactions as Joker, and so they hit the debris. That then simply left the Normandy with the problem of getting out of the field safely.

 _"Our kinetic barriers are not designed to survive impact of a degree that size, Jeff."_ EDI advised.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing we upgraded." Said Joker. "Going in."

A sharp shake put everyone in the cargo hold of balance. Dell even fell right on his face.

"Hold on to something! Joker's a great pilot, but he has his crazy moments." Austin advised as he held onto a nearby railing.

"Come on. Find some room." Joker muttered as the Normandy scraped rather hard against a piece of debris

 _"Kinetic barriers at 40%."_ EDI warned.

"Reroute non critical power. This is gonna hurt."

Joker held his breath as the Normandy continued speeding at the glimpse of the clear. If they could just make it through, they'd be out of the critically dangerous part of the debris field.

One final bit and he just managed to squeeze them through with maybe another scrape.

The Normandy shook again from the scrape. Tali briefly looked up to see if the drive core was holding. Nothing happened, it was doing fine.

The Quarian couldn't' help but breathe a sigh of relief. Her shield fortification upgrade it seemed was working well.

"Damage report…" said Joker.

 _"Kinetic barriers steady at 30%. No significant damage."_ Said EDI.

"Take the helm, EDI, and keep it slow. Let's see if we can avoid any more attention." SAID Joker, breathing a sigh of relief.

Suddenly there was a faint hissing sound from below.

"I have detected an enemy heading for the cargo hold." Said EDI. It seemed that one Oculus had managed to make it through.

"That thing again? This one's up to Shepard."

* * *

"That was a rough ride." Said Dell as he picked himself.

Right at that moment however, the Oculus reappeared through the hole again.

"TAKE COVER!" Austin yelled.

Everyone once again ducked behind something to avoid the incoming beam.

"Dell, I don't suppose you got anything we can use?!" said Liara.

"Well, one of you did bring a Collector Particle Beam back with you. That may pack enough punch." Said Dell as he tried to spot where the Collector weapon was among the mess. To his relief, it was within arm's reach and looked undamaged. Scooping the rifle up, the Arkane threw it to Austin and he caught it.

The Helldiver aimed at the Oculus and fired. Almost instantly, the beam seemed to do some extremely serious damage. First the central eye was vaporised and the beam seemed to carve straight through the other side.

Everyone immediately made sure to duck down to avoid the blast as the Oculus overloaded and exploded. More pieces were sent flying by the blast. Although this seemed to annoy Dell even more, he was pleased at least that the Oculus had been destroyed.

"And stay broken!" he said.

 _"You better get back up here, Major."_ Austin heard Joker say through his comlink.

 _"We're about to clear the debris field."_ Said Alaara.

* * *

Austin quickly hurried back up to the bridge. The massive Collector Base could be seen through the cockpit windows.

"There it is. The Collector Base." Said Alaara.

"See if you can find a place to land without drawing attention." Said Austin.

Before Joker could do anything though, the radar bleeped.

"Too late. Looks like they're sending out an old friend to greet us." Said Joker

The unmistakable shape of a Collector Ship detached from the main base and slowly turned itself until its laser was pointing in their direction. Joker immediately took evasive action, just managing to avoid the beam.

"Time to show our new teeth. Fire the main gun!" said Austin.

Garrus' new cannon upgrades flipped out of compartments on the Normandy's underside charged up and fired a bright blue beam at the Collector ship. The first shot alone damaged the hull badly and very nearly carved straight through.

"How do you like that, you sons of bitches?!" Joker cheered.

"Get in close and finish him off!" said Austin.

"Everybody hold on! Gonna be a wild ride!" said Joker.

The pilot once again dodged another beam and then swung around and went full throttle up to the Collector Ship. "Give 'em hell, girl!"

The cannons fired again and the beam cut straight through the Collector vessel in pretty much the exact same way that its beam had carved through the original Normandy two years ago.

" _Some fine payback!"_ Austin thought.

"Look out!"

The Collector vessel exploded and the pulse disoriented the Normandy. Joker started panicking as he started to lose control of the ship.

"Mass effect field generators are offline! EDI, give me something!" he said, desperately trying to regain control.

 _"Generators unresponsive. All crew brace for impact."_ Said EDI.

The ship hit the Base's hull hard and skidded along the side before finally stopping. The force of this caused everyone to lose their footing. After a few seconds though, they were able to get back up.

"Is everyone okay?" Austin asked.

"Think I broke a rib… or all of them." Joker groaned.

 _"Multiple core systems overloaded during the crash. Restoring operation will take time."_ Said EDI.

"And everything was going so smoothly till now." Alaara sighed.

"Don't lose heart. We'll defeat the Collectors, but I plan to live to tell about it!" said Austin confidently.

"I'm glad you're in charge. What's our next step?" Joker asked.

"Is the ship safe here? How long do we have until the Collectors find this landing zone?" Austin asked.

 _"I do not detect an internal security network. It is possible the Collectors did not expect anyone to reach the base."_ Said EDI.

"In that case, we better use that to our advantage. Joker, you and EDI get the ship back up. Alaara, tell everyone to assemble in the briefing room. It's time for us to plan our attack." Said Austin.

* * *

Everyone had assembled. Each one of them was either checking their weapons or armour. Thane and Griffin were even praying.

As Austin walked to the front of the table, he nodded to Liara. Alaara also followed behind him and stood on his other side next to Sandra.

"This isn't how we planned this mission. But this is where we're at. We can't worry about whether the Normandy can get us home. We came to stop the Collectors, and that means coming up with a plan to take out this station." He said, addressing everyone. "EDI, bring up your scans."

EDI's robotic avatar appeared first. It then activated its holographic omni tool and projected a holo image of the Collector Base.

" _You should be able to overload their critical systems if you get to the main control console here."_ She said.

"That means going through the heart of the station. Right past this massive energy signature." Said Jacob.

"That's the central chamber. If our crew, or any of the colonists, are still alive, the Collectors are probably holding them in there." Said Austin.

"Looks like there are two main routes. Might be a good idea to split into two teams then regroup in the central chamber." Jacob recommended.

"That's no good. Both routes are blocked. See these doors? The only way in is to get someone to open them from the other side." Said Miranda, pointing to the doors in the hologram.

"A few well-placed explosives would do the job." Said Austin, looking in Griffin's direction.

 _"There is insufficient ordinance to cause enough damage, Shepard."_ Said EDI.

"She's right. Even I don't think we have enough to blow through those doors. Sorry." Said Griffin.

"Okay. Let me think a moment. This isn't a fortress, there's gotta be something." Said Austin.

There was a lengthy silence while Austin racked his brain for a new tactic and he scanned the hologram for anything to exploit. Then he spotted something.

"Wait, what about here? Maybe we can send one or two people in through this ventilation shaft?" he said, indicating the entry point on the hologram near to where the Normandy had crashed.

"That's practically a suicide mission. I volunteer." Said Jacob.

"I appreciate the thought, Jacob. But you couldn't shut down the security systems in time." Said Kasumi. "You need tech experts for this, Shep."

"It's your call, Major. Who do we send into the shaft?" Jacob asked.

Once again, Austin was silent for a while. This was an extremely careful choice he had to make now. If he picked the wrong person, it could cost them dearly, perhaps even compromise the entire mission.

He had four choices: Leena, Tali, Legion or Kasumi. Anyone of them would do, it was just a matter of deciding which one he felt was the best. He didn't want to take any chances at all, especially if his wrong choice could get them or someone else killed.

In the end, Austin narrowed his choice down to the two Quarians. Leena was much older than Tali, but she was often a better fighter whereas Tali often benefited from better Tech skills. Eventually, he got fed up with trying to choose and made a better decision.

"Tali, Leena, you're the best techs we have. I'm sending you both in." he said.

The two Quarians nodded to each other and then stood to attention. Leena even saluted.

"We won't let you down, Austin." Said Tali.

"The rest of us will break into two teams and fight down each passage. That should draw the Collectors away from what you're doing." Said Austin.

"I'll lead the second fire team. We'll meet you on the other side of the doors." Said Miranda.

"Not so fast, Cheerleader. Nobody wants to take orders from you." Said Jack disapprovingly.

"She's right. I don't want you leading the second team. Some of us still don't trust you." Alaara agreed.

"This isn't a popularity contest. Lives are at stake." Said Miranda. "Shepard, you need someone who can command loyalty through experience."

Once again, Austin was left with another choice. This time though, he didn't need to waste time debating who. Sure, he could pick Garrus, Miranda, Jacob or Alaara, but the choice was easy since he'd had to make it hundreds of times before. He'd never been wrong before, and Austin sure as hell knew that **she** would not let him down now.

"Alaara, you're in charge of the second team." He said.

"Yes sir!" said Alaara proudly.

"You sure about that, Shepard?" Miranda asked doubtfully.

Alaara was about to furiously object to the former Cerberus operative, but Austin spoke first.

"Whenever we've had missions where we've needed to split up, Alaara's always led the second team. Plus, she commanded Alpha Squad for two years during my absence. I assure you, if anyone's qualified for this, it's her." He said supportingly.

Alaara remained silent and simply nodded confidently in acknowledgement.

"You're… you're right actually. I withdraw my objection." Said Miranda. "Alaara's disciplined and skilled. Excellent choice."

With that all sorted, Austin turned to everyone. His old squad and this new team that he had gathered stood before him. They did well at hiding, but he could tell they were somewhat nervous.

They needed some motivation. Fortunately, he knew just what to say. During some of his sleep with Liara, he'd been heavily contemplating on some stirring motivational speeches to keep their spirits up. He was actually quite good at this sort of thing; he had Zartrack to thank for that. Just a look at the Arkane General was enough to inspire a Helldiver army.

Clearing his throat, the Major addressed his army.

"I don't know what we're going to find in there, but I won't lie to you. It's not going to be easy." He said. "The Collectors made this personal by taking our friends and our crew. Time to get them back. But if they have been harmed... oh, if they have been harmed, then there is not a place on land nor amongst the stars where they will be able to hide from us. If they have hurt our people, then we will use the Collectors to send a message to the Reapers. A message saying that we will not go quietly into the night, we will not vanish without a fight, and we shall never surrender! Time to take the fight to the Collectors in person, for we shall deal such a blow that will leave their spirits faint and crippled. We will strike the strength out of them. We will leave them broken and shattered. And when we come back from this, alive and unscathed, then they shall say that "Never have so many owed so much to so few." Today, we give the Collectors hell!"

At this, all of Alpha Squad seemed to cheer. Even some of the team joined in, especially Grunt who banged his fists together. The others simply smiled. Samara even gave an approving nod.

"Certainty of death, small chance of success… what are we waiting for?" said Kraan eagerly.

"Let's bring our people home!"

* * *

Austin, Liara, Garrus disembarked first with Tali, Leena and Alaara, along with the second fire team following close behind.

 _"We're inside the ventilation shaft, Shepard. It's hot in here, but it's clear as far as we can tell."_ Said Leena through the comlink.

"Second team, are you in position?" Austin asked.

" _Affirmative, Shepard. We'll meet you on the other side of those doors."_ Said Alaara.

The first team made their slowly through the base's tunnels, following the path to the door highlighted on their HUDs.

Their path was clear for a long time. Austin had thought they should have run into some Collectors by now. They entered another chamber which seemed to show the inside of the pipe. They could see Leena and Tali inside. They were moving well until they seemed to stop.

" _We're stuck! Something's blocking the pipe."_ Leena groaned.

Some sort of gate seemed to be in their way and it was preventing them from progressing.

"Can you cut through?" Austin asked.

 _"That's a negative, Major. There's no control panel in here and the gate's too thick."_ Leena replied.

"Can you see a control panel or anything like that somewhere?" Tali asked.

"What about this?" Garrus asked.

Austin looked in the Turians direction to seem him standing by what almost certainly looked like a control for something. With little choice, Austin activated it. To his relief, the gate seemed to raise itself and the vent seemed clear again.

 _"That got it. Moving on."_ said Leena.

"And not a moment too soon. We've got company!" said Austin.

Several Collector soldiers, as well as Harbinger, flew down to the ground and fired on them.

"They're not blocking the path, Shepard. We can still get through to doors if we get this right." said Garrus.

Austin looked out of cover briefly to check. Garrus was right. If they stuck in diamond formation, they'd be able to continue to the doors and continue assisting Leena and Tali if need be.

"Good idea, Garrus. Diamond formation, don't stop!" he said.

Everyone stuck close together and all moved at the same time. With more than one gun firing at the same time, it was much harder for the Collectors to hit them. The Collectors continued to follow through the tunnels, but at least they were able to keep moving.

By the time they managed to reach the doors, more and more Collector reinforcements had joined the fray. Austin knew they couldn't take them all without the others.

He tried to get the door open, but it was still sealed tight.

"Anyone, come in." he said into his communicator.

* * *

From the other side of the doors, Alaara and the others were fighting off more Collectors while covering Tali and Leena while they sealed the door.

"Watch it! Seeker swarms!" she said.

The Asari then heard her Major's voice through her comlink.

 _"We're in position. We need this door open, now!"_ he said.

"You two, go! We'll cover you!" she said.

Both Leena and Tali hurried over to the door control panel and started hacking.

"Something's wrong. The doors stuck." Said Tali.

"Come on you bosh'tet, work!" Leena groaned.

The doors then opened. Everyone else quickly hurried in while Austin continued firing.

"Got it!"

"Here they come!" said Austin he kept firing with his Revenant. "Fall back!"

"Suppressing fire! Hold this line!" Alaara yelled as she and everyone else provided fire alongside Austin.

The next few seconds felt very long, but they held fast. Any Collector they got in their sights went down until the doors finally sealed themselves.

Everyone took a moment to catch their breath. Tali even slumped against the wall, panting and both shaking hands to congratulate each other.

"Everyone okay?" Austin finally asked.

"I think so." Said Tali.

"Good work, you two. I knew you wouldn't let us down." Austin smiled.

"Shepard, you need to see this." Said Miranda.

They were in the central chamber. All around the room was hundreds of the pods they'd seen many times before, all connected to some large tubes.

Miranda looked at some of the nearby ones. There were people still in them.

"Looks like one of the missing colonists." She said.

The nearest pod contained a female colonist that had obviously been taken from a colony.

"There's more over here." Said Liara.

The rest of the pods all contained the crew. Jack almost instantly spotted one particular one

"Kelly!" she yelled as she hurried up to the pod containing the Yeoman.

Austin quickly scanned the pods using his suit. To his relief, they were all still alive. At that moment however, something started to appear on the colonist. She seemed to awake and started banging hard on the case trying to get out.

"My god! She's still alive." Said Austin as he tried to get the pod open.

The stuff on the colonist spread even more until it covered her completely. It was then that Austin noticed it wasn't stuff, it was flesh! She was being melted!

Austin only tried even harder but he couldn't' get the pod open in time. He had to watch helplessly as the colonist was melted into grey liquid. It was horrible.

There was no way he would let that happen to the crew!

"Get them out of there! HURRY!" he yelled.

Everyone immediately ran up to a pod containing a crew member and either smashed or forced them open. Pretty soon, they had everyone out in time. Austin quickly spotted one more. Unsheathing Excalibur he jammed the blade into the pod's gap and pushed as hard as he could. The pod eventually split open and its occupant fell into his arms. It was Dr Chakwas!

"Karin! Karin, are you okay?" Austin asked desperately.

Chakwas seemed to groan slightly as Austin gently set her down on the ground. The rest of the crew seemed to be regaining consciousness as well. Kelly was even waking up in Jack's arms. Chakwas looked around a moment before she saw her old friend kneeling in front of her.

"Shepard? You… you came for us." She managed to say.

"No one gets left behind or forgotten, especially my crew." Said Austin as he gently helped the Doctor up.

Kelly also managed to do the same with a little help from Jack.

"Thank god you got here in time. A few more seconds and… I don't' even wanna think about it." She said, still a bit shaken.

"If they laid a finger on you, I'll kill 'em." Said Jack as she hugged Kelly.

"Where are the other colonists?" Austin asked.

"They were… processed. Those swarms of little robots, they… melted their bodies into grey liquid and pumped it through these tubes." Said Chakwas sadly.

Everyone seemed slightly disheartened by this. Griffin even made a cross sign with his hand and muttered a small prayer.

"Why are they doing this? What do they want with our genetic material?" Miranda asked.

"I don't know. I'm just glad you got here before it happened to us." Said Chakwas.

"So are we. But we still have a job to do." Said Alaara, smiling a bit. At least they'd managed to save the crew. It was better than nothing.

"We've done well so far. Let's hope we can finish the job." Said Liara.

Austin nodded in agreement.

"Gather round everyone. We need to plan our next move." He said.

Everyone did so and made sure they could see the spot in front of Austin.

"Sandra."

Sandra nodded and took a device from her belt. She then threw it gently onto to the floor where it locked itself into place started projecting full 3D holographic projections of EDI, Joker and the Collector Base as well.

"Joker, can you get a fix on our position?" Austin asked as the holograms

 _"Roger that, Major. All those tubes lead into main control console right above you. The route is blocked, but there's another chamber that runs parallel of the one your in."_ Joker replied.

 _"I cannot recommend that. Thermal emission suggests the chamber is overrun with seeker swarms. Mordin's countermeasure cannot protect you against so many at once."_ Said EDI as the part of the Collector Base flashed red on the hologram.

"They must have a weakness of some sorts." Said Liara.

"What about biotics? Could we create a biotic field to keep them from getting near us?" Austin suggested.

"Yes. I think it may be possible. I wouldn't be able to protect everyone, but we might be able to get a small team through if they stayed close." Said Samara.

"I could do it too. In theory, any biotic could handle it." Said Miranda.

"Major, who do you want to maintain the field?" Alaara asked.

Again, Austin was spoilt for choice and he needed to be sure he picked a biotic who was strong enough to maintain the field.

Overall, he felt that the three Asari on this team would be the best choice as they were natural biotics and didn't require implants like other species did.

Liara was well developed with her biotics, despite her young age but Austin knew from her mind that she hadn't before made a field that strong before and he wasn't willing to risk it. Alaara was much older, but Liara was actually a bit more powerful than her because Alaara was more trained in combat than her biotics.

Samara on the other hand had both advantages. She was older than both Liara and Alaara put together and she had more than enough experience due to her being a Justicar and nearly being 1000 years old. Overall, it seemed she would be the best choice.

"Samara and I will take a small team through the seeker swarms." He said. "The rest of you provide a diversion by going through the main passage. We'll open the doors from the other side and meet you there."

"Who should lead the diversion team?" Miranda asked.

Austin didn't even have to consider this time.

"Well, that's easy. Alaara, you're in charge again." He said.

"Yes sir! I'll make sure to keep them busy while you slip in the back." Said the Asari Captain.

"What about the rest of the crew, Shepard? They're in no shape to fight." Said Dash. "No offense."

"None taken." Said Kelly.

" _Major, we have enough systems back online to do a pickup, but we need to land back from your position."_ Said Joker.

"We can't afford to go back, Shepard. Not now." Said Miranda.

"You won't' make it without help. Someone will go with you." Said Austin. "Any volunteers? Just remember that if you do help the crew back, you won't' be able to re-join us. If you wanna fight, stay silent."

"I will go, Shepard. Crew may need some of my medical expertise as well as Dr Chakwas." Said Mordin.

"Good idea, Mordin." Said Austin.

"Joker, need location of landing zone. Will meet you there." Said Mordin.

Before he and the rest of the crew left, Jack made sure to give a Kelly a tight hug.

"I'm coming back, Kelly." She said emotionally.

"You better. I'll be monitoring your frequency." Said Kelly.

"Thank you, for everything."

Jack finally let Kelly go and re-joined everyone else.

"Didn't know you went both ways, Jack. Not going soft on us, are you?" said Dash teasingly.

"Fuck you." Jack simply said.

"We've all got our assignments. Everyone move out!"

* * *

Austin had made sure that he took Liara with him for the long walk. Just in case there was the unlikely possibility that Samara's barrier might fail, she'd be able to at least make one that might still protect them, even if it wasn't as powerful.

In addition to this, he'd also brought Jack with him as well as Sarah. Super biotics and plenty of firepower were what they really needed now.

Samara remained in the centre as she maintained the massive biotic dome that surrounded them all. It was quite an impressive sight. Austin also couldn't help but feel a bit safer now. It was a human trait, but he was sure the others felt the same way.

"Moving out. Try to stay close, Major." Said Samara.

Austin heard his radio briefly crackle into life but it was extremely static.

_"Major, we're in positi…"_

"Alaara? Come in, Alaara." Said Austin.

"Dammit! The swarms are interfering with radio contact." Austin groaned. "You ready for this?"

"I've got your back, brother." said Sarah.

"Ready when you are, love." said Liara.

"Let's kick some Collector ass!" said Jack.

"Alright. Let's do it."

"Let's go, Major." Said Samara.

"Remember, stay in diamond formation and protect Samara." Austin advised.

"Watch out, incoming!" Sarah yelled.

Everyone looked to see several Collectors flying down. Harbinger was also with them.

"I can't fight back from this position. Taking cover. Let me know when you're ready to move." Said Samara.

Everyone dove for some cover just as the Collectors opened fire. Samara's barrier was only meant to keep the swarms away from them, so a fair amount of Collector fire made it through. Jack and Liara used their own biotics to go on the attack; Jack in-particular was making a wondrous mess of the Collectors, while Sarah and Austin used their assault rifles. Austin also made sure to keep Harbinger's attention on him and away from Samara. If she got hit at all, the barrier would fail and they'd all be dead.

After several long minutes of fighting, the cost was eventually clear.

"We're clear, Samara." said Austin.

"Let's go."

"Alaara, do you copy?" Austin said into his comm.

" _Just getting you, Major."_ Alaara replied.

"Give me a sit-rep."

" _We're holding out okay. These things really need to work on their tactics."_ Said Alaara.

" _Got one!"_ Austin heard Dash say.

" _Great kid. Don't get cocky!"_ said Zaeed.

The long walk continued on through the chamber. Many times they had to stop in order to clear the path for Samara, but they made good progress.

Austin was starting to see the tubes again. They were getting close. As they continued however, the barrier started to move a bit slower. Austin's usual pace was now faster than it and he nearly stepped out of the barrier by accident.

"You alright, Samara? We're slowing a bit." He asked.

"Austin!"

Austin looked behind to see that Samara was really struggling. Having to maintain the barrier this long had weakened her and she was only just able to continue standing.

"I will hold on… as long as I can." She said weakly.

"We're almost there, Samara. Just keep going." Said Austin.

Samara continued moving as best she could. Pretty soon, the doors to the chamber were in sight.

"I can see the entrance. Need to get there soon." Said Samara.

The Justicar summoned up what strength she had left and her pace quickened into a light run. Everyone else quickly followed and sped up.

"Hold on. We're almost there." Said Austin, firing at more incoming Collectors.

"More of them are coming, Shepard! We've gotta get the fuck out of here!" said Jack as she threw a few

"Alright, let's move!" said Austin.

The team moved forward a bit more with Austin briefly pausing to fire on a Collector.

"Keep it up!" said Sarah as she also gunned down another Collector.

"Hurry, Shepard!" said Samara weakly.

Samara continued slowly moving, her determination and strong will driving her strength. But then, disaster.

Harbinger had possessed another Collector and that now meant that it could use biotics against them. Austin only noticed this too late as the possessed Collector threw a dark warp at them. Samara's barrier wasn't strong enough to block it and went straight through and hit her. Her concentration broke. The Justicar fell to her knees and the barrier failed.

"SAMARA!"

Austin hurried to the Justicar and helped her up.

The seeker swarms, now no longer held back by the barrier, regrouped into a single swarm and flew at their targets, who could only stare.

Something about this however seemed to stir something inside Liara. She almost felt lost and helpless, but at the same time this somehow gave her a new confidence that she'd never felt before. Something inside her seemed to be shouting words of encouragement to her. She also felt odd, something about her biotics felt odd, as though… they begged to be used. As though they seemed to be begging her to throw up another barrier unlike any barrier she'd managed to conjure up before and protect her bond mate and future husband. If he died… the mere thought of it seemed to fuel her anger. Fortunately, Liara acted and turned her anger, into action and she yelled at the top of her voice.

"No. NO!"

To everyone's amazement, the young Asari threw up another biotic barrier, the most powerful one she had ever done. The seeker swarms bashed into it and flew around helplessly trying to find a way past or a way inside, but to no avail. This seemed to snap everyone back to reality, Austin in particular.

"Quickly, keep moving!" he yelled. "Inside now!"

No one else wasted time and hurried through the open doors. Liara summoned up all her strength and channelled the barrier into a massive biotic wave that swept everything in its path away.

Panting, Liara hurried through while Austin fired a few shots to cover her and the doors sealed.

"Fantastic work, Liara! I can't tell you how proud I am of you." He said as he hugged Liara.

"That bit at the end… Goddess, I don't know how you managed it." Samara panted.

"Thank you. I've never done that before." Said Liara, also out of breath and nearly lost for words. "I fear that'll only be a one off though. I doubt I can do that again so easily."

"Regardless, you saved us, Liara." Said Sarah.

"Your powers are growing stronger, little one." Said Samara proudly.

The happy moment however was interrupted by Alaara's voice.

_"Repeat! Shepard, do you copy?!"_

"I read you! What's your position?" said Austin.

 _"We're pinned down at the door! Taking heavy fire!"_ Alaara replied.

"We're coming: just hold on!" said Austin as he and the others took up defensive positions while Samara activated the door controls. "Get this door open!"

The Collectors were coming thick and fast now. Alaara and the other couldn't keep this up forever or they'd be overrun.

To the Asari's relief however, the doors opened.

"Fall back! Everyone inside, now!" she yelled.

Everyone did so and they were soon all through. Griffin was the last one as he covered them with his minigun.

"Seal the door!"

Just at the very last second as the door sealed however, a stray round from a Collector rifle made it through. It broke past Griffin's shields, managed to carve through his armour and hit him in the chest.

The demolition expert grunted is the shot hit him and he fell to the floor.

"Griffin!"

Everyone ran to the downed Helldiver. He wasn't moving.

"Oh no." said Austin.

To everyone's shock however Griffin suddenly jumped up with a shark intake of breath, causing everyone to jump back slightly in surprise.

"What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me." He panted.

"How did he survive that? He took it in the chest." Liara asked in surprise.

Austin fished inside the wound and pulled something out. Griffin's cross was bent and badly burned. It had stopped the round.

"Well I never." Austin chuckled.

"See? There is a God." Griffin smiled.

"Amen to that, Griff." Said Dash as he helped the demolition expert up.

"Alaara, you okay?" Austin asked as he noticed Alaara was slumped against the wall and panting heavily.

"Yeah. Just need to get my breath back." The Asari panted.

"You did well out there, Captain." Austin smiled as he patted the Asari on the shoulder.

"Thank you, sir." Alaara smiled under her helmet.

Sandra once again to the holo projector from her belt and threw it on the floor. The three projections once again appeared in front of them.

"Joker? Are at the rendezvous point?" Austin asked.

 _"I'm here, Major. Chakwas and the rest of the crew just showed up."_ Said Joker.

 _"Everyone's accounted for, Shepard. No casualties."_ Said EDI.

"Excellent. Now let's make it count. EDI, what's our next step?" Alaara asked, smiling at how well they managed to do so far.

 _"There should be some nearby platforms that will take you to the main control console. From there you can overload the system and destroy the base."_ Said EDI.

As the AI spoke, a highlighted path flashed on the map of the Collector base, indicating the path they'd have to take.

 _"Major? You got a problem. Hostiles massing just outside the door. Won't be long until they burst though."_ Joker warned.

Austin quickly got up on the platform. Everyone looked to him.

"We need time. We have to finish this before they get through." He said.

"Pick a team to go with you, and leave the others here to defend this position. We should be able to cover your back." Said Miranda.

Once again, the choice was easy. He knew exactly who he wanted to take for the final push.

"Okay. All of Alpha Squad, you're with me." He said.

All of the Helldivers acknowledged and climbed to join their leader. X-5 went to join too, but Austin stopped him.

"Not you, X-5. The others will need your firepower. Stay with them." He said.

"As you wish, sir." The robot nodded.

"We're ready when you are, Shepard." Said Alaara.

At that moment, Sarah suddenly jumped up as well.

"Sarah, what are you…"

"There's no way you're going into his without me. I'm not losing you again." Sarah's quickly said to her brother.

Austin didn't argue. To be honest, he'd actually hoped she'd come along for the final push as well.

"Anything to say before we do this?" Miranda asked

"You've done well, all of you. We came here to save our crew and we did it. For me, that alone is a victory. Now I say we do it again and we destroy this base. For us to do that, it's up to you to keep the Collectors from overwhelming us. I understand that some of you have a small sense of doubt, but you have something the Collectors don't have, and that's spirit. That can never be broken, it can never be defeated, and it mostly certainly cannot be killed." Said Austin motivationally. "The Collectors, the Reapers, they aren't a threat to us, they're a threat to everything, everyone. Those are the live we're fight for, that's the scale. Just remember that. We have to give everything, even if that means our lives. We will stop at nothing! We will fight for the lost! Make me proud, make yourselves proud."

"We'll do our best. Good luck, Shepard." Said Miranda.

"Whatever happens in the next few minutes, I know you'll fight and you'll win. Whatever happens… it has been my honour to lead you. Alongside Alpha Squad, I couldn't ask for a better team and I am honoured to have fought by your side. Now make yourselves heroes!"

"Well said, Major. Now let's go finish the job." Said Alaara.

The platform detached and started slowly floating away from the others.

"So this is it. The final assault." Said Ventra, making sure his bow was fully primed.

"Feels like old times, doesn't it?" said Leena.

"Yeah." Said Ventra. A thought then crossed his mind. "If this is the final assault, there's one thing I gonna make sure I do right."

To everyone's surprise, even Austin's, Ventra got down on one knee and produced a ring from a pouch in his utility belt.

"Oh my god!" Dash exclaimed.

"Leena vas Penthra, will you marry me?" Ventra asked.

"I… yes I will." Said Leena, almost lost for words.

Ventra got up and the two hugged each other.

"Fancy that. Now we've got two weddings to look forward to after this." Liara smiled.

"Two?" Sandra asked.

Liara retracted the armour around her hand and showed everyone her engagement ring. Everyone gasped and suddenly cheered with delight.

"By the Goddess!"

Sarah even hugged Liara while some of the male Helldiver thumped Shepard on the back.

"I never noticed you were wearing that. How long?" Alaara asked.

"I only proposed to her just last night." Said Austin.

"I don't believe it. Now I have a future sister in law." Sarah smiled.

"Guys, I hate to break this happy moment up, but we've got company." Said Dash.

Everyone looked in the direction he scout was pointing. Sure enough several more platforms were attaching to their massive one. From each one jumped a swarm of Collector Captains that Austin, Liara, Griffin and Tali had fought on the derelict Collector vessel not too long ago. This time though, there were many more of them to the point where Alpha Squad now found themselves facing a small army of these hybrids.

"Oh no. Not these guys again!" Austin groaned.

"This'll be a tough battle." Said Dash as he drew both his pistols.

"Come on. Overwhelming odds with little to no chance of success? How can we resist?" said Kraan.

"With me everyone?" Austin asked.

"To the end, Shepard." Said Alaara.

"Look and load people!"

Everyone went into battle stances and drew either their guns or melee weapons. It didn't matter either way since the Captains could fight them both ways.

"Crush them! In the name of Jeebus!" Dash cheered, trying to sound funny.

"It's Jesus, you idiot!" said Griffin crossly.

"That too."

"Give them hell, Alpha. Attack!"

Everyone charged and the Captains did too. Dash almost instantly did a kick on the first Captain he came into contact with. The others quickly followed, slashing, firing, punching, pretty much any form of attack there was.

True the Captains outnumbered them, but the Helldivers had way more skill and experience than they did.

"Ventra! Two already!" Kraan cheered.

"I'm on seventeen!" said Ventra.

"WHAT?! I'll not have a Turian outscore me!" said Kraan as he went to chopping down even more Collector Captains with his two handed axe.

"Nineteen!" said Ventra as he shot two more.

Kraan and Ventra often did this as simple friendly competition. Whoever got the most kills won. In some ways it also improved their performance in combat as they became determined and more focused on killing targets.

Amongst the Captains, Harbinger had taken over one of them. The Reaper instantly threw a massive dark biotic at them. It missed, but it shook the platform up a lot and even destroyed some of the small walls that they had.

Most of the couples in Alpha appeared to be sticking together. Alaara and Sandra were certainly staying together. The Asari provided biotic attacks and barriers while Sandra fired with her assault rifle.

Austin and Liara had become separated by Harbinger's biotic blast, but that wouldn't keep them apart for long.

Ventra meanwhile was fighting fairly close to Leena, but not back to back. Because of the different weapons they used, it did make it complicated for them to fight together. Leena for example preferred the use of her tomahawk and knife while Ventra always used his bow. The couple never complained about this though. They'd even worked out a small strategy for it. Ventra was able to spot targets for Leena that might be sneaking up on her and she drew most of the attention away from him.

The Quarian jumped over one of the platforms walls and sunk her tomahawk into the head of a Captain as she landed on it. Another one came at her, but she delivered a swift kick to the face which broke its neck.

Austin meanwhile was carving down a Captain with ever swing. It had been a while since Excalibur had carved through this many enemies. Liara wasn't far off either while she put her biotics to use as well. She could see though that a lot of the Captains did seem to be concentrating on him, most likely under Harbinger's orders.

Immediately reacting, she used her biotics to propel herself into the air and jumped over a Captain that had just been firing at her. She landed and started running to help Austin. The Captain turned to shoot her, but the Asari's plasma cannon, which had been left on automatic, instantly whirled around and fired. It was because of this that Liara hadn't worried about getting shot in the back.

Austin quickly went back to back with Liara and they now fought as one. Within seconds they started transmitting thought to each other through their telepathic link. Captain after Captain fell by their blades as they swung and parried and sliced. Both their plasma cannons were firing like mad as well. No doubt the targeting systems were having to work overtime because of so many enemies.

Garrus meanwhile was engaging with some Husks who had joined the fray. While he sniped each one form a distance however, he failed to notice that another one had snuck up behind him. It hit him hard and knocked him to the ground. Just as it prepared to deliver a fatal blow however, several pistol shots hit it until it fell over the edge.

Garrus looked to see that Dash had saved him.

"Thanks." Said the Turian as he got up.

Dash didn't say anything but simply nodded. He then twirled the pistol several times in a classic manner (like they often did in the movies) and then holstered it.

The Husks certainly added a bit more of a challenge to the fight, but it was nothing Alpha Squad couldn't handle.

Austin and Liara continued fighting back to back as more and more Collector Captains attempted to strike at them. Taking on one person with a sword was hard enough, two was nearly unbeatable. If one tried to backstab Austin, Liara would either be there to cover him or would send a mental warning to him so that he could thrust behind him.

Suddenly, a Scion charged out of nowhere and headed straight for them. The surprise of this didn't give them enough time to react and they ended up being separated. The Scion smashed Austin out of the way as it continued charging at Liara, who had no choice but to run.

Once the Asari was sure she was far enough however she turned and made a fast blind swing at the Scion's head. She failed to decapitate it, but she did cause and injury which left it temporarily blinded as her sword cut into its right eye. Unfortunately, it still managed to topple her and she lost grip on her sword.

As the Scion tried to regain its bearing's Liara quickly rolled back onto her feet and immediately looked for her sword. She spotted it lying near to where Dash was wrestling with another Husk that was trying to latch onto him.

Quickly using her biotics, she summoned her sword to her hand just as the Husk managed to topple Dash. It was at that same time that the Scion had regained its bearings and it noticed Dash on the floor who had managed to kill the Husk that had pinned him but he was still on the ground.

The Scion threw Dash and then charged him. As the scout landed he quickly acted by continuously rolling so that the Scion couldn't crush him. It worked and the massive Husk under up running over him.

The Scion quickly noticed that it had missed its target though and it charged again. This time though, Dash was ready for it as he got back up on his feet.

As the Scion smashed another normal Husk out of its way as it charged, Dash did a quick draw with his pistol and he fired. The shot hit the husk right in the head and it fell. The Scout narrowly jumped out of the way as it skidded to a halt, now lying there dead.

Dash breathed a sigh of relief but he only had a brief moment to relax before he spotted another Captain running at him. Worse still, its arm was morphed into a sword. Dash fired a shot which hit the Captain, but it's didn't go down. He fired again, still it didn't' die. By this time, it had got too close. The Collector Captain managed to sever Dash's rifle with it blade arm, but it didn't hurt him just yet.

It spun and swung for another strike but Dash countered it with his forearm. The Captain tried again with a lunge, but Dash countered that too and seized his chance. Using his other free hand, the Helldiver scout activated his own omni blade and decapitated the Captain.

" _Too close for comfort."_ Dash panted in his mind. Any later, and it might have been him that had suffered that fate instead.

Austin and Liara were once again fighting back to back with another. Despite that Alpha Squad was holding out well, they both knew they couldn't keep this up forever. There were so many Captains.

Harbinger was still in control of the Captain he was possessing and he shot another dark biotic blast at them. They both avoided it however and it instead took out a lot of Captains.

Griffin was either using his minigun to take out Captains from afar or would use his massive gauntlet if they got too close.

Two Collector Captains suddenly toppled Austin to the ground. As they readied for a killing blow however, Liara quickly cut them down only for another two to then punch her. The same happened again though as Austin cut them down with Excalibur before they could kill her.

Dash meanwhile was fighting against several more normal Husks. Just as he took out the last one however, a Collector Captain suddenly lunged a punch which quite by accident hit him right in the crotch.

"Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"

The scout fell to the floor clutching the searing pain between his legs.

"Not again." He groaned.

"Stop whining you, big baby! You had to see that coming." Said Kraan as he helped Dash back up.

The Captains continued to come thick and fast. It was getting to the point where they were all driving Alpha Squad into the centre. Now the Helldivers were surrounded.

"We can't keep this up, Shepard! There's too many of them!" said Alaara.

"Everyone get down!" Griffin yelled.

No one even considered hesitating and instantly dropped to their knees. Griffin brought his large gauntlet back and then slammed it very hard into the ground.

The platform that Alpha Squad was on remained still, but the others that were attached to it were shaken greatly to the point that they ended up breaking apart and falling into the pit that the platforms hovered over. The Collector Captains were also caught in the blasts and they fell along with the wreckage. It was so unexpected for them that they didn't' have enough time to use their wings to fly to safety.

All of the Helldivers took a few moments to get their breath back.

"How did you do that?" Dash asked in surprise.

"It's prototype that Dell made for me. Hadn't tested it until now." Said Griffin.

"Hmm, nice one, Griffin. You should lead with that next time." Said Austin.

"Yeah. Sorry, Boss. I can only use it once. It's kind of a one off.

"Well, at least the Captains are all dead." Said Alaara.

"Final count: 32." Said Ventra proudly as Kraan put his foot on top of a dead Collector, his axe embedded in its head.

"Hmm. Not bad, for a Turian." Said Kraan. "But I myself am sitting pretty on 33."

Ventra looked rather jealous with this. Rather surprisingly he then fired an arrow that embedded itself in the Collector Captain dangerously close to Kraan's foot.

"What the hell, Ventra?! You could've taken my foot off!" the Krogan shouted.

"33." Ventra smiled smugly.

"It was already dead, you idiot!" Kraan shouted.

"It was twitching." Said Ventra.

"It was twitching, because it's got my axe embedded in its nervous system!" said Kraan crossly. To prove his point, he moved the axe slightly. With each movement of the axe, the dead Collector Captain jarred violently.

Austin walked up to the control panel. The platform started moving again as it made its way into the main chamber.

"This is it. All the tubes lead to this spot. EDI. What can you tell us? What are they doing?" Austin asked.

 _"The tubes are feeding into some kind of super-structure. It is emitting both organic and non-organic energy signatures. Given these readings, it must be massive."_ Said EDI. _"Shepard, if my calculations are correct, the super structure… is a Reaper."_

To everyone's horror, the AI was right. The super structure came into view and they saw the definite design that a Reaper had. But its shape was different, almost… human.

"Not just any Reaper…" said Austin. "A human Reaper."

 _"Precisely."_ Said EDI.

The huge reaper still only looked partially completed, but it was definitely human. It had the face, upper body and arms resembling a human. It had no legs though since its spine wasn't connected to anything.

Attached to it were several tubes injecting some sort of fluid into it.

 _"It appears the Collectors have processed tens of thousands of humans. Significantly more will be required to complete the Reaper."_ Said EDI.

"This thing is an inbred abomination! EDI, how do we destroy it?" said Austin.

 _"The large tubes injecting the fluid are a weak structural link. Destroying them should cause the supports to collapse, and the Reaper to fall."_ Said EDI.

"Right then. Alpha, split into two teams. Take two tubes each." Said Austin.

Alpha Squad split into two and took either side of the human Reaper.

"Ready… FIRE!"

Both squads emptied their guns at the tubes and they exploded. The currently inactive human Reaper became dislodged from the rest of its supports and it fell until it was out of sight. It was seriously unlikely that the massive machine could survive that, especially in its unfinished state.

"Shepard to ground team! Status report!" said Austin.

_"It's Grunt! You're missing a hell of a fight, Shepard!"_

"Head to the Normandy!" said Austin. "Joker, prep the engines. I'm about to overload this place and blow it sky high."

 _"Roger that, Major."_ Said Joker.

Austin pulled the reactor core out of the central platform and began setting it to overload and destroy the base.

 _"Uh, Major. I've got an incoming signal from the Arkane Council."_ Said Joker.

"This really isn't the best time for them to be calling us." Austin groaned. "Alright, patch them through."

Sandra once again threw the holo device to the floor and it projected the whole Arkane Council in front of Austin who stood up to address them.

 _"Shepard. You've done the impossible."_ Said Spartan.

"I have my team to thank for that. None of this would've been possible without them." Said Austin.

 _"Their actions will not be forgotten, and they will be greatly rewarded for all they've done."_ Said Tarnack.

"No offence, Councillors, but is that all you called us for?" said Kraan.

 _"No. We felt it best to tell you that you now have a choice to make."_ Said Avaritia.

"What do you mean?" Austin asked.

 _"We've been looking at schematics that EDI uploaded. From them, it seems that the base doesn't necessarily have to be destroyed."_ Said Necrosis.

" _A timed radiation pulse could still kill the remaining Collectors. But it would leave the machinery and technology intact."_ Said Avaritia.

"What are you saying? You're saying that we should use this technology?! It liquefied people! Turned them into something horrible! Using this technology would be wrong!" said Austin, almost appalled that the Arkanes would even think of something like this.

"I agree. We'd be disrespecting the dead!" said Liara.

 _"We know that. Many of us agree with you."_ Said Tarnack.

"But you just said…"

 _"We have been attempting to decide amongst ourselves whether or not the base should be spared. Each time, the results have been the same. Half of us want it destroyed; the other wishes it to be spared."_ Said Spartan.

" _In the end, we have decided that we cannot make this decision ourselves, and so we have decided to let it fall to you."_ Said Tarnack.

"Councillors, are you sure about this? I'm just a soldier who takes orders from you. Sometimes I don't always see beyond the immediate as you do." Austin asked.

 _"You're the one who has the ultimate choice, Shepard, because you're there right now. Even if we ordered you to preserve the base, you could still do otherwise. Better simply that we let things happen as they should."_ Said Councillor Krellick.

"Whatever secrets we might learn, it isn't worth the risk. For all we know this base could also have indoctrination technology. If so, we definitely cannot take that risk." Said Austin.

 _"It's your choice, Shepard. Just be sure that you make it for the good of everyone as well as yourself. For once, I'm afraid you yourself will have to look beyond the immediate."_ Said Avaritia.

"I've made my decision. We'll fight and win without it. I won't' let fear compromise who I am." Said Austin as he went back to setting the core to overload.

 _"Very well, Shepard. I guess all we can do now is simply wish you good luck in the final hours. You'll have a hero's welcome waiting for you when for you when you return to Arkadia."_ Said Spartan.

"Council."

_"Major."_

The holograms disappeared and Sandra pocketed the device.

"You made the right choice, Shepard. We'd be no better than Cerberus if we used this base." She said.

"Thanks. I just hope this is definitely the right thing." Said Austin.

"No regrets, love." Said Liara as she put her hand reassuringly on Austin's shoulder.

"Okay. Let's move. We've got ten minutes before the reactor overloads and blows this whole station apart." Said Austin as he slid the reactor back into the platform.

Just as he stood up however, the whole platform suddenly shook violently. SO much in fact that everyone lost their footing.

"What the hell was that?" said Sarah as she got up.

To everyone's shock, a massive arm appeared and latched onto one of the platform. Following it was the terrifying form of the human reaper that was now fully conscious and operational.

"Oh Goddess!" said Liara.

"God help us." Said Griffin.

"Hold your ground!" Austin yelled. "If the Alliance and the Helldiver fleets can take down Sovereign, then we can kill this thing too!"

Everyone cheered and started firing on the massive Reaper.

The human Reaper swiped at the Helldivers many times, but managed to miss due to how small they were in comparison to its huge size. It also seemed to have some sort of beam in its mouth that would charge up before firing.

As the Reaper brought its arm down onto one of the platforms, Austin leapt onto it so that when it moved again, he was now on top of the Reaper and had a clear shot at its face the entire time.

The Human Reaper gave a metallic roar at the constant gunfire it was being bombarded with and tried to shake the Helldiver off. Austin ran further up the Reaper's arm until he reached the head. Having lost sight of him, the human Reaper once again turned to the rest of Alpha Squad. As Austin clung to the Reaper's head, he started scanning for a weak point. If the Reaper had any, it had to be on the head somewhere. It wasn't easy holding on since the Reaper kept moving a lot, but Austin Helldiver armour enabled him to keep a tight grip.

After a few moments, his suit identified a weak point on part of the head, and it could be penetrated with the right weapon. Austin activated his omni blade and plunged it into the metal as he started cutting. To his relief the human Reaper didn't seem to feel any pain from this, at least not yet. Austin continued cutting until the gap was large enough. Reaching in with his hand and using all of his enhanced strength, he ripped a large metal plate off until it exposed some sort organic substance. Whatever it was, it obviously had to be crucial if it was protected.

Without even hesitating, Austin drew Excalibur from his back and plunged it in all the way up to the hilt. The Human Reaper screamed in pain, so much so that its right arm smashed away a whole platform before it then reached for its head to try and garb Austin. The Helldiver quickly withdrew his sword, jumped off the Reaper's head and ran back down the way he came.

Before Austin could reach the end of the arm however, the human Reaper spotted him. Using it's free hand, it quickly grabbed him and threw him off. Austin was only just able to grab onto the edge of the furthest platform before he fell off.

Griffin and Liara quickly noticed and helped the Major up.

"You okay?" Liara asked.

"Yeah. I'm good." said Austin. "That's things not going down easily."

"You either hurt it, or just pissed it off." said Griffin.

"And we're starting to run low on ammo. We're obviously hurting it, but we're not causing enough damage. We need something that packs a bit more punch." said Liara.

The three of them quickly went back into cover to avoid another swipe from the human Reaper. The Austin remembered something. Something that he reckoned would finish this abomination for good.

"Leena, you still got that Nuke Launcher?!" he yelled over all the noise.

"Yeah. Why?" Leena asked.

Austin simply looked at Leena for a moment before the Quarian understood.

"Good thinking." she said.

She quickly took the Nuke Launcher that she'd first tested on Haestrom from her back and threw it to Austin.

The Helldiver found it difficult to get a good shot since the Reaper was moving so much. If it would just stay still long enough.

"Hold still, you son of a bitch." he muttered.

Somehow, for some unknown reason, that seemed to work. The Human Reaper remained still as it seemed to focus on him.

"Sheeeeeepaaaaaard." it just managed to say as it opened its mouth and charged up its beam again. That however was just the opening that Austin needed.

"You're terminated, fucker!"

He pulled the trigger and a massive nuke shot forward, straight into the Human Reaper's mouth. The massive machine was taken aback by this as it seemed to swallow it. There was a brief pause and then its eyes and heart core exploded and burst into flames. The Human Reaper flailed about violently as it died. As it did however, it fell on all the platforms, causing them to become dislodged and start falling. All of Alpha was luckily on the same one but it was shaking about violently, so much so that no one could stand upright and one of them nearly fell off.

Austin just in time managed to slide down and catch Liara's hand before she fell over the edge. As he pulled her up, another explosion form the Human Reaper tipped the platform and it plummeted even faster.

"HOLD ONTO SOMETHING!" Austin yelled.

The platform smashed against the walls violently for several painfully long seconds before it then seemed to crash into something hard and stopped. Austin could hear a lot of groans from everyone which at least told him they were alive.

"GET YOUR FOOT OUT OF MY BACK!" he heard Kraan yell.

Austin picked himself up and made sure Liara was okay. As far as he could tell, no one was hurt.

"Well, that could've been worse." Dash chuckled.

This was prematurely said however, as the second the last word left his mouth; the human Reaper's massive head suddenly fell on the platform. It had become detached from the body, but it still forced the platform down which made it even harder for some of the others to crawl out of the wreckage.

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE JOKING!" said Sarah.

"I'm gonna feel that in the morning." said Austin as he rubbed the back of his neck.

At that moment, the radio suddenly crackled into life and Joker's voice could be heard.

_"Do you copy? Major? Come on, Shepard, don't leave me hanging. Do you copy?"_

Austin quickly reached for his wrist and activated it.

"We're here, Joker. Did the ground team make it?" he said.

 _"Yeah. Everyone's on board. We're just waiting for you."_ said Joker.

Alpha didn't need to be told twice to head back to the Normandy as something else had now found them.

"Seekers!" Sandra yelled.

"Run!"

Austin fired a few cover shots from his pistol as everyone sprinted as fast as they could. He quickly ran to. As they did, Harbinger's voice boomed throughout the base.

_"Human, you've changed nothing. Your species has the attention of those infinitely your greater. That which you know as Reapers are your salvation through destruction."_

Austin simply ignored it and kept on running. He let his determination to get out of this alive fuel him, his determination to finally have a peaceful moment where he could hold Liara and they could both look forward to their wedding. The Collectors had taken him away from her once; they would not do it again!

The Normandy hovered into view, its cargo bay doors open and with everyone firing at the Collectors as Alpha jumped to safety. Only Austin was left now. As he kept running, a large piece of debris suddenly fell and smashed away a large chunk of the edge. He'd have to jump.

 

"Come on! You can make it! Jump!" Alaara yelled.

Several shots frotm eh collectors hit AUstins' back, but thanks to his shield they all bounced off. He sprinted at top speed towards the edge, and jumped.

For a brief moment, everyone held their breath as they watched Austin. It almost looked as though he wouldn't' make it, but he just managed to catch onto the edge. Liara didn't' even hesitate and she hauled Austin up. Just as Austin felt his feet touch metal however, a shot suddenly hit him in the chest.

"Dammit!"

"Seal the door, now!" Alaara yelled.

The Normandy began to rise up as it begun it's escape. The cargo bay doors sealed themselves and all view of the Collectors and the base disappeared from sight. Austin could heard Joker and EDI's voices over the loudspeakers as he was hurried to the medical bay.

_"Detonation in 10, 9, 8…"_

_"Yeah, I got the gist of it, EDI! Hold on!"_ said Joker.

That was the last Austin heard as he felt the Normandy speed up and he lost conciseness.

* * *

The Collector General fumbled at the base's control panels in vain. It knew it was doomed, and Harbinger (who was possessing it) knew that as well.

"You have failed. We will find another way." the Reaper boomed.

A blast staggered the general and it held onto the main display for support. It looked up to see the hologram of Harbinger's true Reaper form returning to hibernation mode.

"Releasing control."

The General looked around, confused. This was all different from the last thing it remembered. How long had this happened? All these questions flooded it's mind.

Before it could get any answers though, it slowly looked behind it to see the incoming blast.

Everything went dark, and then there was nothing.

* * *

"Is he gonna be okay?" Liara asked, doing her best to hide her tears.

Austin was lying on one of the beds in the medbay. Normally his suit would go into lockdown when he passed out, but because they were on a Helldiver ship they had the technology to deactivate so they could tend to his wounds. Both Dr Chakwas and Mordin were examining the hole in his armour were the round had entered.

"I think so. At most, its just flesh wounds." said Dr Chakwas.

Despite that the doctor was still partly in shock after her abduction, her determination to save her friend overwhelmed that.

"Yes. Should recover fairly quickly. Helldivers tough. Injected with special serums to help improve healing. Makes them tougher, stronger. Should recover fine." said Mordin.

At that moment, Austin suddenly groaned and slowly moved his head.

"Austin!"

Liara quickly held his hand and looked into his eyes. They'd removed his helmet as well to make sure he was still breathing.

"Did we make it?" Austin asked, smiling at the sight of Liara's face.

"Yeah. We made it, love." said Liara, a tear of happiness escaping her eye and making its way down her cheek.

"How are you feeling, Shepard?" Dr Chakwas asked.

"Pretty good. I've felt better though, I won't lie about that." Austin groaned as he sat up. Liara made sure he did it slowly so as not to stress himself. "Give it to me straight. How bad?"

"It's not as bad as it could have been actually. Your suit took the worst of it so the round didn't go deep enough to cause any significant damage. You should be fine." Liara replied.

Austin nodded and gently lowered himself down from the bed until his feet touched the floor.

"Don't strain yourself, love." Said Liara concernedly.

"It's okay. I'm fine." Said Austin reassuringly.

"Recommend plenty of rest, Shepard. Wounds should have plenty of time to heal." Said Mordin.

"Noted, Professor." Austin smiled. He then turned to Chakwas. "What about you, Karin?"

"I'm still a little shaken after all that. But I'll be fine." Said Chakwas. "You and Joker came for me. I've never had truer friends."

Austin went up to the Doctor and hugged her. She hugged him back.

"I owe you my life, Shepard." She said.

"Use my first name just once, and we'll call it even." Austin chuckled.

"I'll have to work on that, Major." Chakwas smiled.

"Where's the rest of the team?" Austin asked.

"Alaara told them to simply wait in the cargo hold." Liara replied.

"Right. Before we tell them to rest, there's something I need to sort out with them." Said Austin.

* * *

True enough, all of the team, along with Alpha Squad, were gathered in the cargo hold. Most of them were either chatting happily with one another over their victory and some of the couples were even kissing each other.

As soon as they saw their leader again, they cheered.

"Never thought they'd put you down, Major!" said Alaara.

"Knew you'd get through it, Battlemaster!" Grunt cheered as he banged his fists together.

After a few minutes of accepting congratulations from everyone, Austin urged them to quiet down. Once he was sure they were all listening, he finally spoke.

"Thank you all for that." He said gratefully. "I just wanted to say that I'm proud of each and every one of you. We destroyed the Collectors and we walked out alive with no casualties. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that we didn't just give the Collectors hell, we proved wrong that this wasn't a suicide mission."

Everyone clapped and cheered again. Once again, Austin waited until they'd quieted down before he spoke again.

"Now, I am aware that some of you may eventually be leaving after that this. Some of you have duties that you must still attend to and things like that, while others have something new planned. I understand this perfectly and do not blame you for having to leave. I would however like to ask that you do come back at some point. We have a special occasion to celebrate, and your all invited." He said.

"And what might that be?" Jacob asked.

Austin turned to Liara and she once again showed her engagement ring.

Once again, everyone clapped and cheered. Sarah and Alpha Squad, who were already aware, just simply smiled.

"Congratulations, Shepard." Said Jacob.

"So yes. As you now know, eventually there'll be a wedding. It'd certainly make it worthwhile if you were all able to attend." "Regardless, we've won a great victory today. And though this is still far from over, although the Reapers are still on the horizon, now is a time for us to enjoy the victory we've fought for and earned. All of you get plenty of rest, that's an order!" Austin smiled.

Most of the team disappeared to head to their usual spots on the Normandy. Jack in particular slung Kelly over her shoulder before carrying her off. Austin could only hope they didn't make too much noise.

Only Alpha Squad was left now. It was then however that Austin suddenly noticed that Dell and Sill were working on something that looked very familiar. It was X-5. He'd been extremely badly damaged to the point that he looked beyond repair.

"Oh no. What happened?" Austin asked.

He took a lot of the fire covering our escape. It was brave of him. But at the same he's now been this badly damaged." Said Sill.

"Can you fix him?" Liara asked.

"I think so. The damage is extreme, but I think he can be salvaged."

"If anyone can fix him, it's you, Dell." Said Austin as he patted the Arkane on the back. "Keep me posted on your progress. If you need anything at all, tell me and I'll make sure we get it."

Dell nodded and went back to working on the damaged robot with his daughter.

"At least when he wakes up we'll be able to tell him we won." Sill smiled.

"That we will, my daughter. That we will." Said Dell.

Liara stood next to Austin and held his hand as she noticed his concerned expression.

"He'll be fine, Austin. Besides, you should be enjoying the victory." She said.

"Yeah. I suppose so." Austin smiled.

What happened next took Liara completely by surprise. Austin suddenly pulled her into such a deep kiss that she lost her footing. Fortunately of course, the Helldiver was there to catch her.

When they finally did separate, Liara was afraid she might swoon.

"Was saving that for you when we won." Austin smiled.

"Well, since you say that…" Liara panted.

Austin noticed her wink at him and he instantly got the message.

"True. We were gentle last night. I say we make the most of this victory." He smiled.

"I love you." Said Liara.

"I love you too." Said Austin.

Once again to her surprise, Austin picked Liara up in his arms and carried her bridal style to the elevator and pressed the button for their quarters.

Though it had been a rough ride, they had triumphed. The Collectors were defeated and now the Reapers lacked some very loyal servants. Although their work was still far from done, it was definitely a victory to rejoice over.

* * *

Deep in dark space, several glowing eyes it up, illuminating the blackness. Harbinger's true Reaper form had exited hibernation mode. Then more and more lights followed behind it as thousands more Reapers awakened after almost 50,000 years of long sleep. Very slowly, they began their long journey towards the Milky Way.

Even without direct routes to the galaxy, they were patient machines. They'd waited 50,000 years for this and even more before that. They could gladly wait a little longer for the next cycle to begin.

True Shepard had destroyed the Collectors, but the Reapers had many other servants. Not to mention that they still had yet to reveal something else. Hibernating with them also was another species. Like the Reapers themselves, these ones were immortal and so they had been around since the very beginning. The Reapers still had yet to reveal their deadliest servants: The ones who lead their armies in war, the ones that were said to be neither organic nor machine.

As they began their final advance towards the galaxy that the primitives foolishly called their own, a single overwhelming and almighty thought that spoke with the authority of a god, echoed throughout their collective mind.

"THE CYCLE CANNOT BE BROKEN."

The battle of the Collectors was over, but the war for the galaxy would soon begin…

* * *

**We'll see these new servants in ME3, and don't worry. They don't have a minor role and were simple stuck in there just for the sake of originality. They're practically the main antagonists in ME3.**

**Now, should say of course that ME2 most definitely does not end here. There's plenty more stuff coming, believe me. After all, we've still got Lair of the Shadow Broker, Shepard and Liara's wedding (which is also a join wedding with Ventra and Leena) Arrival, and also one more romance couple which a good friend of mine (you know who you are) is so eager for. I promised it would be in ME2, and I keep my promises.**

**There will be a few other things as well that I have planned that are post ending. Most especially a chapter where the Helldiver get hundreds of new upgrades and we even get a new Normandy (still the SR2 but with a major refit to the point that is technically a new ship) So I'm looking forward to that.**

**I can't really say anything about the next chapter since the contents f that one are a closely guarded secret (and before you ask, no. It's LOTSB just yet. That will be the chapter after the next one) I'll probably at least say that it will have a fair amount of explicit sex and heavy partying.**

**Should** **be fun though. :)**

**Until next time... which I hope will be soon.**


	39. Chapter 39, A Knight to Remember

**Here we are! A chapter I have been most eager to do!**

**You'll soon see why. ;)**

**I'm quite pleased with the title as well as it has a double meaning.**

**Also, a big thanks to Vital Info and AllianceCommand who helped out and provided some of their ideas for the sex scene in this chapter. Cheers to you both, my friends. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 39**

**A Knight to Remember**

 

The main Arkadia hall was packed with Arkanes, Helldivers and plenty of other familiar faces. Zartrack stood in the crowd. Also standing next to him was none other than Austin and Sarah's parents, Matt and Hannah Shepard. Hannah almost looked in tears of joy to see her son again after two years. Mat looked pleased too of course.

All of the team and Alpha Squad were stood above for the entire crowd to see. The Arkane Council also stood before them. Spartan stepped forward and addressed everyone.

"Today we gather to honour the heroism of the team that stands before us. They have defeated the Collectors, destroyed their base, and dealt a fatal blow to the Reapers. Under Shepard's leadership they have practically done the impossible." he said proudly.

Some Helldiver soldier then came forth with several large boxes. Spartan opened them to reveal several shiny medals in them. "For this, we are proud to present all the non-Helldiver members with the cross of glory, the highest commendation we can bestow."

The Arkane presented each cross to the Non Helldiver team members, including Sarah. Even Jack behaved herself and bowed her head at receiving the award.

The crowd clapped and cheered for a few seconds before going silent. Spartan had much more to say.

"We also recognize the heroism of Alpha Squad's newest members. Liara T'soni, Garrus Vakarian and Alex Wilson, step forward." he said.

Liara, Garrus and Griffin did so and stepped forward from the rest of Alpha.

"Your skills, inspiration of valour and loyalty to the Helldiver cause and your teammates is in keeping with the highest tradition. Therefore, as head of the Arkane Council, it is my honour to award you also with the cross of glory."

Spartan did the same thing again and presented the three Helldivers with a cross of glory each.

Once again the crowd clapped and cheered as the three of them joined Alpha again. They were all smiling proudly. Griffin even seemed lost for words.

"Never thought this day would come." he said.

"No shortcuts, Alex. You earned it." Austin smiled.

"We must also not forget of the heroism and bravery of Alpha Squad. Many times before they have shown themselves to be one of the best Helldiver teams we have ever trained. They serve as a symbol for everything the Helldivers stand for." Spartan continued. He turned to Alpha as he said the next bit. "Since we have long ago awarded you all with the cross of glory however, it has been difficult for us to think of how we can once again commend you for all that you have done. Eventually, we have come to the decision that your names will forever be remembered in our history."

A large cover was then pulled off of a large structure standing over them to reveal a large statue of all of Alpha Squad.

The crowd once again cheered as the Helldiver squad looked at it, all of them surprised beyond belief, but pleasantly.

"This statue shall forever be a part of our great hall of warriors. We once again have another tale to weave into our great history archives." said Spartan, smiling as he spoke. "There is also one more commendation to be given, and that is to be given to a singular individual. Major Austin Shepard, step forward."

Austin stepped forward. He was ensure where this was go, or how the Arkanes could possibly reward him with anything better than promotion. It did seem very early though. To his shock however, Spartan said something completely different and most unexpected.

"Your leadership, bravery, and loyalty to uphold the code of the Helldivers has always been admired by us and it serves an inspiration to many. You are also the one who discovered the truth about the Reapers. When war does eventually come, we are sure you will do the same again to help us stop them once and for all."

"Nothing more than my duty, Councillors." said Austin.

"Nevertheless, we cannot let this victory go unrewarded. Though it seems a solution has been made for us. The Queen of Earth has heard of your efforts to stop the Collectors. Now aware of your victory against them, she has decreed that you… are to be knighted." said Spartan.

The crowd once again broke into claps and cheers and whistles. Alpha Squad and all of the Normandy team looked at Austin with surprise. They all knew that among humans, to be given Knighthood was a hard earned but great honour indeed.

Almost struggled to find something to say for a moment. Of all the possible reward she'd thought of, he had not expected this.

"I'm almost lost for words, Councillor. I don't know what to say. Thank you." he said gratefully, bowing his head.

Spartan simply smiled and nodded. Austin then turned to address the crowd directly.

"While this is a victory, we must not forget about those who lost their lives to the Collectors. Many colonists fell at their hands. I'll ask for now is a moment of silence to honor their memory." he said.

The crowd obliged and remained absolutely silent for several seconds.

"Thank you. HAIL THE VICTORIOUS DEAD!" Austin yelled. The crowd replied back.

"HAIL!"

* * *

With that over, the whole place had turned into a celebration. Everyone has happily cheering, drinking with friends, many other stuff associated with having a fun time.

The first people of course that Austin made sure he talked to was his family. He and Sarah quickly found Matt and Hannah in the crowd. Hannah almost immediately flung her arms around her son.

"We've missed you so much, sweetheart." she nearly sobbed.

"We've missed you both too." said Sarah as she hugged her mother as well.

When Hannah finally let Austin go, she looked at him proudly.

"My son, a knight. I don't know what to say." she smiled.

"I'll admit I'm very surprised myself. I never expected an honor like that." said Austin.

"You earned it, Son." said Matt proudly.

"Thanks, Dad. That means a lot." Austin smiled.

Father and Son simply smiled at one another for a long moment before eventually giving in and hugging one another. Even a Helldiver General as hard-core as Matt had a soft spot for family.

"You and Sarah have always made us proud, Austin." said Matt.

"We owe it to you and mum, Dad. Everything that was great about us began with you." Sarah smiled.

Matt finally let go of his son and changed the subject.

"Now, I understand also that you have now proposed to Liara." he inquired.

"Yes. He has." Said Sarah.

"I assume you got the form signed?" Matt asked.

"Yep. Made sure I had everything sorted out before I asked the question." said Austin.

"We're very happy for you, Austin. Liara never stopped loving you and we could see how much you loved her. All I will say is that your father and I will be proud to call her our daughter in law." said Hannah happily.

"Thank you."

"Now, I think we've detained you two long enough. Go off and enjoy your celebrations. You've earned it." said Matt.

Austin nodded and went to talk with everyone else and see if he could find Liara in the crowd. See if he could steal her away later so to speak.

As Sarah went to leave as well, matt quickly spoke.

"And Sarah, the Arkane Council told me that they've put in a word with the Alliance. You're welcome to serve on the Normandy permanently if you choose." he said.

"Well… I'm glad to hear that. I'll have to think about that though. I don't' know yet whether I want to be on the Normandy permanently, I mainly joined for the mission." said the N7 marine.

"It's your choice, Sarah. I'm just letting you know you can stay if you wish." Matt smiled.

* * *

The drinks were definitely on the house. Austin was quick to notice a lot of the male crew members gather around a table. From the looks of things, Kraan was just about to start a drinking game with Grunt.

"No pauses, no spills." said Ventra.

"And no regurgitations!" Kraan laughed.

"Are there any rules?" Grunt asked.

"Simple, last one standing wins! Ha-ha!" Kraan laughed.

The two Krogan started drinking while the crowd watched keenly.

Austin decided to simply leave them too it. He spotted Zartrack near the bar and decided to join him.

"General."

"You're off duty, Shepard. You can drop the formalities." said Zartrack.

"Sorry. Old habits." said Austin.

"Despite how much a soldier you've become you always remind me of that young promising student I trained so long ago." Zartrack smiled.

"I owe all of it to you. Things might have been very different without your training." said Austin.

"You give me too much credit, Shepard. I always knew you were special. You didn't learn that from me." said Zartrack.

"I just do the best I can." said Austin as he ordered a drink.

"And you've made me proud by doing that." said Zartrack. "Shepard, I've said it many times before that you've always been my favourite student. But up till now I've never said that you are also the **best** student I've ever trained."

"You mean that?" Austin asked surprised.

"Have I ever lied to you?" Zartrack's chuckled.

"No, I just… I always thought… **he** , was the best." said Austin.

Zartrack's smiled faded slightly at the mention of **him**. The person that Austin referred to was another Helldiver student that Zartrack had trained many years ago, before Austin had even joined the Alliance first. He'd been a brilliant Helldiver, but he started operating beyond his boundaries and got involved in all sorts of forbidden operations. In-particular, he had tried to form an Alliance with Cerberus, something the Arkanes would never consider or allow for any reason. Zartrack had also found out about his students betrayal and had attempted to bring him in. He had supposedly been killed, but he returned many years later going under the alias of "The Commander"

He and Alpha Squad fought and clashed many times before both Zartrack and Austin defeated him once and for all.

"No. He may have been my favourite long ago, but he was never truly the best. That's always been you." said Zartrack

"Well, in fairness, I had a great teacher as well." said Austin.

"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if you made a good mentor yourself someday." said Zartrack proudly.

"Maybe. If I'm up to it." said Austin.

Austin's drink finally arrived and he proposed a toast.

"So what will we drink to? To victory?" he asked.

"To the best student I've ever had the privilege of training." Zartrack smiled.

They clinked glasses and drank.

"Thanks… Zartrack."

Back with the drinking game, Kraan now looked just about ready to fall of his chair. Grunt on the other hands still looked like her could many more.

"GIVE ME ANOTHER ONE! HAHAHAH!" Kraan shouted drunkenly as threw his latest glass on the floor and it smashed.

"This is embarrassing." Griffin sighed.

"Lighten up, Griff. There's nothing wrong with him having some fun." said Dash as he nudged the demolition expert.

"Oh no, I've got nothing against this. I'm just worried about what this much alcohol will do. Especially if someone cheats and puts something in the other ones drink." said Griffin.

"Yeah. It would be boring if that didn't happen." Dash joked.

"I feel something." said Grunt.

Everyone's eyebrows pricked up in interest.

"A slight tingle in my fingers. I think it's affecting me." said Grunt.

"What did I say?! He can't hold his liquor!" said Kraan. The second the last work left his mouth however, the Krogan fell of his chair.

Dash went up to the Krogan and checked him.

"Yep. He's out." he said. "Someone get a crane."

"Ha! Game over." Grunt laughed, crossing his arms.

As Austin explored the party a bit more, he saw Mordin over with Dell and Sill and a few other Arkane engineers. To his surprise, Mordin was singing. Actually singing!

If Austin recognised it right is was a slightly changed version "Modern Major General" from The Pirates Penzance of by Gilbert and Sullivan. Not a bad tune to sing if he was honest.

"I am the very model of a scientist Salarian; I've studied species Turian, asari, and Batarian.  
I'm quite good at genetics (as a subset of biology) because I am an expert (which I know is a tautology).  
My xenoscience studies range from urban to agrarian; I am the very model of a scientist Salarian."

"Mordin singing? Whatever next." Austin sighed.

The party was really starting to heat up now and Austin feared that they'd run out of drinks soon. The Arkanes allowed this sort of thing as long as it wasn't out of hand. At least everyone was having a good time. They deserved it after their victory.

Austin then spotted a large crowd gathered around table and he could her music playing. To his embarrassment, Sandra and Alaara were both standing on the table, they had removed their armour so that they were now in just their suit mesh (which was unzipped slightly to show their cleavage and they were dancing erotically.

This was by far the most embarrassing thing they had down yet.

"Me and my big mouth." Austin groaned. "Where's Jack?"

Austin looked around for the Biotic Convict with concern. Last thing he wanted Jack starting a fight. Obviously Kelly was with her, but still...

Activating his scanner, he set it to show Jack's location. The trail led him to the ladies. Through the open door he could see Kelly bent over one of the sinks with Jack thrusting into her. Both their clothes lay on the floor.

" _Hmm, well as long as Kelly keeps her under control, that's fine."_ Austin thought to himself.

Leaving the two women to it, Austin continued trying to find Liara. He'd been looking for a while now and still hadn't found her. Where was she?

Suddenly, he saw a very familiar face.

"Arnold! How are you?!"

Arnold walked up to his old friend and hugged him friendly.

"Hey, Shepard! Nice job with the Collectors!" he said.

"Katherine."

"Shepard."

All three of the Helldivers sat down. Arnold put his arm around Kat.

"How's the rest of you team doing?" Austin asked.

"Getting back out into the Terminus has been really good for them. They've never had a better time." Arnold smiled.

"That's good to hear." said Austin. "And how's it going between you two?"

Arnold and Kat looked at each other for a moment, but they then smiled at one another.

"Well... as well as it could I guess." said Kat.

"We just saw Liara a little while ago. She told us that you and her are getting married. Congratulations." said Arnold.

"Thanks. Best decision I ever made." said Austin.

"When can we expect a wedding?" Kat asked happily.

"Yes, but I don't know when yet. We haven't decided. We're still working it all out." said Austin.

"Be sure you invite us though, Shep. Wouldn't want to miss out on our friend's wedding." said Kat.

"No. I wouldn't want you to miss out on it either." Austin smiled.

Both Arnold and Kat's omni tools suddenly bleeped.

"Oh. Just as we're having fun." Arnold sighed. "We gotta go, Shepard. Our shore leave just ended now. We're being given an assignment in the Terminus systems."

"Be careful out there. In my experience, it's a rough place." said Austin.

"We will. See you round, old friend." said Arnold.

As Austin explored the party a bit more he begun to see more of the crew that he hadn't seen earlier.

Grunt, having won the drinking game against Kraan (who was still passed out on the floor since no one was able to move the heavy Helldiver Krogan) was now arm wrestling with Griffin. Surprisingly, the Helldiver was doing quite well. Both arms were still firmly in the middle and Griffin wasn't even breaking a sweat. Obviously all that work with the gym equipment wasn't going to waste.

Austin then spotted Jacob lying in a secluded corner. On closer inspection it looked as though he was miming kissing someone. God knows what Kasumi would say. Just as Austin was about to leave however, he heard a small pleasured moan which sounded exactly like Kasumi. He looked again and then he saw the small ripples.

Jacob wasn't drunk, he was actually kissing Kasumi for real, and her cloak had just somehow been activated.

Not wanting Jacob to appear drunk and acting weird in front of everyone else, Austin activated his omni tool. The cloaked figure fizzed slightly and then disappeared to reveal Kasumi properly.

 _"That's better"_ Austin thought to himself as he nodded approvingly.

Continuing on through the party, he noticed Garrus and Ventra comparing head shots, Leena and Tali contributing tech ideas, X-5 and Legion doing the robot on the dance floor, much to Austin's embarrassment, Miranda looked like she was talking with Oriana on the mini holo in her omni tool, and Sarah, Sill, and Gabby were all having a girl talk.

Austin finally found Liara sat at the bar. Samara was also sat in front of her and the two were talking. Both of them seemed to smiling, so they were obviously enjoying the talk.

Austin decided to join them and he pulled up a stool next to Liara.

"Shepard."

"Samara."

"Samara was just telling me some very interesting things." said Liara.

"Mind if I just quickly get a drink?" Austin asked.

* * *

Austin slowly opened his eyes. His head hurt like hell and he felt very groggy.

"Ohhhhhhhhh! My head!" he groaned.

He looked to his left and noticed Liara was cuddled next to him. Seeing as they were both naked, they'd obviously made love last night. Austin didn't know for certain though since he couldn't remember. Any memory he had of last night just seemed fuzzy.

"Morning, Liara." he said, making sure to be quiet to avoid giving Liara a headache.

"Morning, Austin." the Asari groaned.

"How much did we have to drink?" Austin asked, rubbing his soar head.

"I don't know. I don't even remember what we did last night." said Liara concernedly as she noticed their nakedness. As Austin settled back down, he felt his right hand brush against Liara's leg. Strange though, considering she was on his other side.

"Liara, why is your leg over there?" he asked.

"Both my legs are here." Liara replied, confused by her future husband's question.

"Then who's…"

Austin's eyes widened in shock. Very slowly, he turned his head. To his horror, there lying next to him, also without clothes, was Samara.

"Oh goddess!" Liara gasped.

Samara stirred and slowly opened her eyes.

"Shepard, Liara." she said. The Justicar then suddenly realised that she was in their bed without her outfit. "Why am I in your bed, and why are we all naked?"

All the memories of last night suddenly came back to them all.

"Oh no! Not again! Austin groaned as he flopped back into the bed with his head buried in his hands as he remembered last night.

* * *

**Flashback**

The talk with Samara had gone on for a very long time, so much so that the three of them had ordered quite a few drinks now and it was starting to have an effect on them.

"Oh, Shepard. You and Liara will be very happy. Any Asari would be lucky to find someone to love them as you love her. Even I, would one day hope to find a love like yours if The Goddess deems it so." Samara smiled.

Austin was probably a bit drinker than the two Asari were since they had a slightly higher tolerance to alcohol than he did, and so he was finding it hard to walk.

"Think we should help him back to the ship." said Liara, giggling slightly due to her own drunkenness. Surprisingly, it had even affected Samara since Austin had bought some drinks for her too. She hadn't objected since her code permitted relaxation.

The two Asari kept Austin steady and slung an arm each over their shoulders and slowly helped him back to the Normandy and into his quarters.

_What they said after that, none of them could remember. But whatever they had said, it had eventually ended up with them tearing all their clothes off._

Both Austin and Liara gasped as Samara finished removing her Justicar outfit. Her body was to die for. Her breasts were twice as large as Liara's and her hourglass figure alone was enough to bring Austin's member to full 10 inch hardness.

Surprisingly, Samara was a lot more forward with this than expected. She was quick to pin Liara to the bed and latched her mouth onto the younger Asari. Austin simply watched for now and started touching himself as he watched the truly amazing sight before him. Watching a hot, sexy and beautiful Justicar lesbian kissing with his fiancé's was truly an erotic sight.

Liara's tongue snaked into Samara's mouth as the Justicar fondled her tits. Samara quickly caught on and did the same.

'Let's not forget about, Shepard." said Samara.

Liara smiled and she and Samara separated. Austin could see where this was going and he lay back on the bed.

Liara lay next to him as did Samara. Liara immediately started kissing him while Samara simply watched his tool throb for a while. However, Austin didn't like his member being unattended. He took it in his hand and stroked it several times, which seemed to arouse Samara a lot.

"Goddess! Never before have a seen a human that big." She said.

"Kiss it." Said Austin. Get it nice and wet."

He let go of his member as Samara took hold of it. Her soft hands sliding easily over the rock hard shaft. Liara watched Samara playing with her bond mate's cock keenly. She was somewhat eager to see if the Justicar was better than her in bed.

Samara leaned forward, her lips connecting with the tip and immediately electing a moan from Austin.

"Uhnnn."

Samara gently kissed the head of his member, getting herself ready to enjoy that strong taste. She breathed in before encasing his cock with her mouth quickly settling for a rhythm. Austin grunted and moaned as Samara's lips and tongue skilfully worked his shaft. Liara's eyes were locked onto Samara's lustful face gobbling on his cock.

"Does it feel good?" she asked.

"Uhnn.. Yeah… mmm."

Liara leaned into Austin, locking lips, their tongues intertwining while she also slid a hand over Samara's smooth ass. Her other hand groped his body wherever they could. Samara kept sucking hard on his shaft introducing her hands to the treatment. One jerking whatever she couldn't take in her mouth, the other massaging his balls.

Samara's pace increased as her head bobbed up and down on Austin's cock. Austin gave a load moan as Samara switched to sucking and wet sounds started emitting from Samara's mouth as she sucked greedily on the head of his cock while Liara slid her hand proudly over the Justicar's plump ass.

Samara went even faster now, so much in fact that Austin even helped by putting his hand on her head and controlling her bobbing.

After a long time, Austin decided that he'd waited long enough he wanted Samara's Azure.

"You're turn, Liara." He said. "Samara, get on top of my face. I want to taste you."

Samara got on top of his face so that he could tend to her Azure, which was now practically begging for some attention and Liara's hand gently slid down his body until it reached his throbbing cock. Taking it in her hands, she started to lick at the tip.

"Oh Goddess! No one's touched me like that for so long!" Samara moaned as Austin's tongue probed deep into her dark pussy. She also fondled her massive tits as she watched Liara suck Austin's cock.

Liara then started sliding her hand up and down her bond mate's cock as she took the head into her mouth and continued licking and also sucking, which elected a moan from Austin, which in turn added even more pleasure to Samara which also spurred Liara on. They were now locked in an unending cycle of sex and pleasure.

Liara let Austin's wet cock pop out of her mouth and gently slung her legs over him until she was straddling his waist, his still rock hard cock nudging into the space between her ass cheeks.

The Asari moaned as Austin's cock slid slowly into her Azure. She then reached forward and started once again kissing Samara as she gently moved up and down on her bond mate's shaft.

One of Austin's hands shifted. While one still remained on Samara to pull her Azure to his face, the other reached around and firmly grasped Liara's behind as it slowly rode him.

Liara shifted lower and started suckling on Samara's tits, enjoying their size, weight and feel. After several minutes of doing this for a long time, the two Asari shifted.

Samara got off of Austin, seeing as she needed to calm down so as not to cum too early. Going for so long without sex had made her unable to last as long as Austin or Liara.

Liara meanwhile moved up ever so slightly so that her bond mate's cock was now lined up with her other hole. Austin got the message almost immediately.

"Goddess, Austin." Liara moaned as she slowly inched Austin's cock into her asshole.

Her walls tightening and clamping down on his cock, tense against the foreign object being inserted.

"Ohh- oo..oohh- ahhhaaa" the Asari moaned as she felt the shaft quivering inside her ass, her rectum clamped even tighter on the Helldiver's member.

Liara looked down into her bond mate's eyes, a smile on her face as he slide is shaft further into her ass until his full length was in her, and she could feel his balls pressed against her ass.

Liara's pace started to increase and she brought her ass up and then down. The air was filled with a slapping sound as Austin's balls slapped against Liara's ass.

All the while, Samara was still touching herself at the erotic sight in front of her. She panted hard as she continued fingering her Azure as she watched the Helldiver's massive throbbing cock disappear in and out of Liara. This only made her all the more eager for her turn.

Liara picked up the pace riding Austin faster, feeling her ass clamping down tightly on his cock. The Asari began to go faster up and down, up and down, wet noises emanating from Austin's shaft going in and out of her rectum. Liara's beautiful tits bounced furiously with each thrust as she slammed down, impaling herself with his entire cock.

Both Liara and Samara could tell that Austin was getting close because Liara feel his cock throbbing inside her ass causing her rectum to tighten around him and Samara could also see him throbbing like mad with each thrust.

"Go-God- Goddess!' Liara cried as she came first then Austin just a second later.

Austin felt his shaft jerk as he sprayed his load into his future wife's ass.

Liara kissed Austin on the lips passionately as his semen drained out of her ass, and his cock released from her rectum with a wet pop.

As the both of them panted to catch their breath, they noticed that Samara was still fondling her massive breasts. Liara licked her lips seductively. Samara seemed to understand though.

"Suck on my tits." She smiled.

Samara lay down and moaned in bliss as both Austin and Liara started suckling on her tits like new born babies. Austin took on breast while Liara took the other. One alone was more than enough so the engaged couple had more than enough of a good taste of the breasts they were sucking.

Samara's moan increased and she put her hands on the back of their heads, her right ruffling through Austin's short brown hair and the left massaging the back of Liara's crest which was actually a spot that could bring more pleasure when an Asari was aroused.

Both tongues flicked Samara's nipples as they continued sucking. Austin even gently applied his teeth to the one he was on which made Samara moan even louder.

"Oh goddess!"

This continued for a long time before Austin felt ready to go again with another load.

Both Asari seemed to get the message and Liara got into position on her hands and knees, one of her hands spread her Azure lips apart. Austin got up and gently slid in. Samara knelt behind him and pushed gently on his hips in time with his thrusts into Liara. She and the Helldiver locked lips as their tongues battled for dominance. Liara could also see this as she looked behind and she reached down to touch herself while she enjoyed Austin's cock inside her. The dream threesome she and Austin had had with Miranda seemed like a quick fuck in comparison to this. This one was pure pleasure. Most likely that was because this one was real compared to the dream one, but still…

Goddess knows what sort of life Samara had led as a maiden if she was this good with a human and another of her own kind.

The exoticness of fucking Liara while Samara controlled his thrusts turned Austin on so much that he could already feel his load approaching. Liara, sensed this sheathed Austin all the way in.

"Cum inside me, my fiancé!" she smiled.

Samara also reached around Austin and felt Liara's ass as he reached forward and took both her tits in his hands just as he felt his orgasm start. Both he and Liara moaned as they felt the cum shoot out of him and deep into the Asari Maiden's Azure.

Samara simply shivered with pleasure as she listened to the moans. This had made her even wetter now and she felt so horny now. She wanted some too now.

Liara seemed to notice this as she looked back.

"Samara hasn't had a turn yet." she said.

"Yes. Please, I want it." Samara moaned.

Austin was more than happy to comply. Liara got up as Samara took her place on the bed, this time laying on her back and with her legs spread wide to reveal her own dripping Azure.

Austin was still hard from the last round and more than ready to go again.

Samara almost practically screamed as she felt a pleasure that she'd denied herself for so long.

"Oh Goddess! I'd forgotten how good it was." she sighed as the initial pain was replaced by pure pleasure. She'd managed to adjust to Austin's 10 inch length.

"Who would've thought a Justicar would be such a screamer in bed." Austin smiled as his thrusts sped up

As Austin started thrusting into Samara, Liara hugged tightly to Austin from behind, her tits pressing against his back, her wet Azure touching his own behind and her nails digging into his chest which only added to the pleasure.

All three of them moaned as they moved in synch with each other.

After a while, Liara had an idea that was extremely naughty. She reached with one of her hands and adjusted Austin's face to look directly at her.

 _"Embrace Eternity!"_ she said, whispering so that Samara wouldn't hear.

The Maiden's eyes went black as her nervous system once again connected with Austin's. Both their pleasure intensified as they felt the pleasure of each other. Liara had been careful not to do it with Samara. She after all had taken quite a few bond mates in her time and because she was a Justicar she probably would not approve of that now.

That didn't mean of course that Liara and Austin couldn't have some fun with her, especially seeing as how they were all a bit drunk to the point of them engaging in this threesome.

 _"I know what you're thinking, Liara."_ said Austin telepathically.

 _"Come on, Austin. You know you want me to, especially while it's inside her."_ Liara replied deviously.

Samara meanwhile had both her hands on the Helldiver's chest as he continued thrusting into her. She was so lost in the pleasure that she didn't notice the engaged couple smiling evilly above her.

Another thrust from Austin suddenly brought her even more pleasure than before. Then the next one brought more again. How was Austin suddenly getting even better?

The next thrust had a small bit of pain in it. Something was going on. Samara opened her eyes and looked up. It was only now that she saw Liara's black eyes and that both her hands were glowing with biotic energy as they wrapped around the base of Austin's cock.

Now that she was still, she could actually feel the shaft slowly growing and expanding inside her. It was more pleasurable than painful though.

"Yes! I was hoping you'd use that!" the Justicar moaned.

Austin once again resumed his thrusts. His pace was slow to begin with since Samara had to once again adjust to his new big meat. Samara was also now screaming with each thrust.

"Goddess! It hurts!" she yelled.

Liara moved from kneeling behind Austin lay on top of Samara. She took the Justicar's large bust in her hands and started sucking on it again.

Samara's screams once again returned to moans as not only did Liara's suckling add to er pleasure, but she felt her vaginal walls once again adjust to Austin's now 16 inch long and 3.5 inch wide cock.

"Gonna cum soon!" Austin groaned, trying to postpone his orgasm as best her could, despite how much his enlarged, sensitive shaft begged to shoot.

"Don't pull out!" Samara moaned.

Austin complied and thrust himself in as hard as he could go, just as he felt his cock erupt.

"OH FUCK!"

"GODDESS YES!" Samara cried as she felt her insides become filled with almost a gallon of warm cum.

Liara started once again kissing Samara as the Justicar panted heavily, recovering from the euphoria and Austin gently slid out. Austin then noticed how both Asari's azures were rubbing together. This gave him an idea.

Both Asari moaned together as Austin very cleverly slid his cock between their two touching Azures, which both brought them pleasure. Austin admitted it would've been much easier, and more fun, if he had two cocks, but he knew that was impossible. This was still just as good nonetheless and the constant moans from both Asari only encouraged him.

He lowered his upper body down until he was lying on Samara's back. All three of them started kissing each at the same time while Austin was able to fondle both their tits pressed against one another.

The sensation of both dripping Azure's massaging his gigantic cock as he thrust between them was driving Austin over the edge. He had a feeling this would probably be the last round and he could tell that the two Asari he was pleasuring felt the same.

"Final cumshot incoming!" Austin moaned.

The two Asari immediately got the message and lay down as Austin knelt in front of them and stroked his cock furiously.

"OH GOD! HERE IT COMES!"

His cock erupted like a geyser, sending hot sticky semen out into the air landing everywhere both on Liara and Samara. Mostly their faces and their tits got the most of it. Seeing them covered in the white stuff was indeed a sight to behold. Even more so once they started licking it off each other's faces.

The two Asari collapsed on top of Austin, their cum covered tits pressed against his sweaty chest. Sleep claimed them quickly as Liara even held Austin's slowly softening shaft in her hand gathering up and last bits of cum with her fingers.

* * *

All three of them looked at each other with shock. Samara especially felt as thought she'd been violated. Her code didn't say anything against this, but still, the fact that she had engaged in a threesome with two close friends without her knowing about it did make her feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Errrrrr... oh dear." Austin sighed.

"Justicar, I... I'm not sure what to say." said Liara slightly nervous of what Samara might do.

"You do not need to be nervous. None of us were in our right minds when this happened, so it wasn't your fault. Also, my code does not forbid intimate contact." said Samara as she looked around for her outfit.

"That's it? You're not gonna say that you've violated your code?" Austin asked in surprise.

"Well, meaningless sex is not permitted, but secretly, I did enjoy it. It reminded me so much of my days as a maiden." said Samara, her lips smiling ever so slightly

Both Austin and Liara looked at each other with surprise. They had not expected Samara to say something like that, let alone that she'd enjoyed the threesome. In fairness though, so had they.

"I am willing to overlook that I broke two rules of my code by engaging in a one night stand with you both and I ended up drinking too much at that party, but only if you promise we will not speak of this again."

"Definitely done and done, Samara. We didn't intend for this either."

 _"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it though."_ said Liara telepathically.

 _"Not now, love."_ Austin replied cautiously, hoping Samara wouldn't catch that they were talking in their heads.

* * *

Today was a big day. After spending the whole of yesterday allowing the crew and himself to recover from their hangovers, Austin had plotted a course for Earth were they would head to London for Austin's knighting ceremony. Austin had instructed everyone to look their best and had been particularly insistent that all the Helldivers polish and clean their armour.

Austin was currently examining himself in the mirror just to be sure that his armour was as clean and polished as it could be. The dented paint and battle scars were fine. Those didn't need to be amended.

To also look his best, he'd had a clean shave; he'd washed his hair and everything. He didn't need to worry about wearing his uniform since he'd been told it'd be better if he was knighted in his armour. Even he himself felt that would be better.

Liara simply sighed as her bond mate kept checking himself thoroughly.

"You don't need to make such a fuss, Austin. You look great." she said.

"I know. I guess I'm just bit excited, but anxious at the same time." Austin sighed.

"I may still have much to learn about human ways, but I do know that becoming a knight is a great honour. In fact, Samara herself said that Justicars are like a Knight errant, so I'd be surprised if Samara doesn't at least say that she sees you like another Justicar."

Austin's smile brightened.

"You always know how to make me peaceful, love." he said.

"Trust me, love, you look great and I can honestly say you've never looked more handsome." said Liara. "Do you think I look okay though? I am your future wife after all, it's important to make the right impression."

Austin simply shook his head and chuckled. Despite how much she'd matured since they'd first met on Therum, she still often said things that reminded him of the innocent and shy Asari scientist that she'd once been. It was nice to see that some things never changed.

* * *

The team had agreed to stay so that they could see their leader getting knighted. After that though, those who planned to leave had said they would be doing so.

Since this was a more private ceremony, there weren't so many people in the hall of Buckingham Palace. All of Alpha Squad, the Normandy crew, Sarah, Matt and Hannah were seated as they watched Austin slowly walk up to the Queen herself and slowly get down on his knees.

Everyone watched proudly as the Queen took her own ceremonial sword and tapped both of Austin's shoulders with it.

"Rise, Sir Major Austin Shepard, Knight of the Helldivers." she said.

Austin slowly got up and bowed his head. Despite that he knew no one could see his face under his helmet, he did his best to remain casual, despite how thrilled he was.

Everyone clapped and cheered as he got back up on his feet.

"Thank you, your Majesty. I'm honoured." he said proudly.

"You've done humanity a great service, Shepard. You deserve it." the Queen smiled.

Sadly, it was now time to say farewell. With the ceremony over, the Normandy had docked at the Citadel for everyone to leave.

Austin stood before the entrance to the airlock in order to bid farewell to those who were leaving. He knew it wasn't a goodbye. Naturally he'd see them all again at the wedding and he was sure that the eventual war with the Reapers would bring them together again or at least allow their paths to cross.

Thane was the first one that Austin said goodbye to.

"It has been my honour to work for you, Shepard. You have been a good friend as well. I definitely hope that one day we meet again." said the Drell.

"I hope so too, Thane." said Austin as he and Thane shook hands. "I hope it eventually turns out good with your son."

"It will be difficult, I admit. But I have faith." Thane smiled.

Mordin was next.

"Farewell, Shepard. Know we will see each other again at wedding, but still, going to miss all this. Knowledge gathered on this mission immense. Don't know if things will ever be the same." said the Salarian quickly.

"What will you do now, Professor?" Austin asked.

"Will head back to Omega first just to check on Clinic. Not sure what to do after that. Have thought long and hard about what you said though, about the Genophage. Perhaps you may be right. Will at least look into Maelon's research. Will see where it goes from there." Mordin replied.

"I wish you luck, Mordin."

Jack was next followed by Kelly. The Alliance had found out that jack had helped him and had rather surprisingly offered her a position as biotic teacher at Grissom Academy. Kelly, having fallen in love with Jack hadn't wanted to be parted from her. She had found that the school was actually in need of a physiologist and so she had decided to take the job. The Arkane Council had agreed to it, so she was still technically in the Helldivers. She had assured Austin that this was what she wanted and she had even given a list of her own recommendations for possible candidates to fill her position on the Normandy.

"Well, Shepard. I hate long goodbyes, so it's best we just make it quick." said Jack.

"You've been a valuable member of this team, Jack. I hope you do well at the Academy." said Austin.

"Trust me, I'm gonna turn those kids into the baddest biotics you've ever seen." Jack smiled.

"Take care of Kelly as well, Jack. She's been a valuable part of the crew. I'm sorry to see her go, but at least I know she's in safe hands." said Austin.

To his surprise, Kelly hugged him.

"I'll miss you and everyone else too, Shepard." she said.

Grunt had planned on staying, but Austin had told him that with the Collectors dead, they probably wouldn't be seeing as much action and had recommended that the tank bred Krogan might be better going back to Tuchanka. After all, he had a place as an Urdnot now, so...

"We've fought great battles, Shepard, and you've been a great Battlemaster." said Grunt.

"We couldn't have done as well as we did without you Grunt." sad Austin.

"You know, when the Reapers finally arrive, I have a feeling you'll be diving head first into the fray. When that day comes, I hope to come back." said Grunt.

"You'll always be welcome on the Normandy Grunt. You're a part of this clan too." said Austin.

"Shepard."

"Grunt."

Legion was the next one who was leaving. Now that the heretics had been reverted back to the true Geth cause, it would need to tend to them. It had also said that it planned to help build an army that, when the time came, would come to Shepard's aid.

"Shepard-Major." said the Geth.

"I hope we meet again, Legion. You showed me that there's a better side to the Geth, and I owe you for that." said Austin.

"We are also grateful for you not only accepting us on your ship, but for helping us to save our people. We are in your debt." said Legion.

With his contract done, Zaeed saw no reason to stay any longer.

"Shepard."

"I'm glad the Arkanes hired you, Zaeed. You've been a valuable asset to the team." said Austin.

"When I get paid to do a job, I do it well." said Zaeed proudly.

"Take care of yourself out there." said Austin.

"You too."

Last but not least was Samara. Austin could not deny that he was going to miss Samara most of all. He and the Justicar had become very good friends and he really felt a friendly kind of bond with her.

"I'm gonna miss you most, Samara. You've been a good friend." said Austin.

"You have been a good friend as well, Shepard. I will miss you too. I look forward though to be present for your marriage to Liara. A bond as deep as yours is very special." said Samara.

"Stay safe out there, Samara. I hope we will see each other again." said Austin.

"As do I. My wisdom tells me that you have a great destiny ahead of you as a leader. You will face a great evil, and I know you will defeat It." said Samara. "And in some ways, I see you as like brother in arms. Your Knighthood easily makes you comparable to a Justicar.

"I'm honoured to hear you say that, Samara. Thank you." said Austin gratefully.

Samara then reached out and put her hand on his shoulder.

"If ever you should need me, seek me out. I will come for you, my friend."

Anyone else left would be staying. All of the Helldiver crew naturally wold continue serving under Austin and so they wouldn't be going anywhere. Miranda and Jacob were also staying since they were still under Austin's command, Tali planned to return to the Migrant Fleet eventually but she had said she was in no rush and so she would stay a bit longer, Kasumi was also staying since she didn't want to leave Jacob and Sarah was still on-board as well. The N7 Marine was still debating whether she wanted to continue serving on the Normandy or not. Austin naturally understood and simply told his sister to take all the time she needed to decide. She was welcome on the ship for as long as she liked. He hoped though that she would stay. It would be nice to have his sister always with him.

Austin walked into his quarters to find Liara relaxing on the bed, smiling as he entered.

"Sir Major Austin Shepard." she smiled proudly.

"Her majesty did seem very grateful." Austin smiled.

"She's not the only one." Liara smiled as she sat up.

Austin could see where this was going and slowly made his way towards the bed.

"I love you." Liara sighed as Austin planted kisses on her neck.

"I know." Austin smiled smugly.

* * *

**Couldn't resist doing a Samara threesome. Who wouldn't jump at the opportunity?**

**Next one is an eagerly awaited one. None other than, (drum roll) Lair of the Shadow Broker. I was gonna do another original chapter which focused entirely on Alpha Squad getting loads of new upgrades in preparation for ME3 (including Shepard giving his armour a huge redesign. I am hoping perhaps to see if Stheo would be willing to do a drawing of the new look I have planned. Although I will be very descriptive with Shepard's new look, some people do occasional still have trouble picturing my original concepts without a picture)**

**In the end though, I decided that those bits would be too short for an entire chapter, and I also felt that people would be more eager for LOTSB. So I decided instead to put the upgraded bit at the beginning of LOTSB.**

**I'm looking forward to doing that DLC. It's the second best Mass Effect DLC (second now to Citadel as we all know) and I've got plenty of original ideas that put a nice little twist on the story...**

**Until next time...**


	40. Chapter 40, From the Old, to the New

**This by far the longest chapter I've ever done. It is also the most fun though.**

**Little I can say really. Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Chapter 40**

**From the Old, to the New**

It felt more empty than usual on the Normandy now that a lot of the team had left. Still, there were enough faces still here to stop it from feeling very lonely.

To be fair, of course, no one was actually on the Normandy at all. In fact, the Normandy was in pieces.

Once again docked at Arkadia, the ship was being given a huge new refit with some of the newest technology and even more upgrades than before.

At the moment, everyone was simply enjoying a nice long break of shore leave on Arkadia while the Normandy was being refitted. Even Joker didn't mind having off duty time off the ship.

Austin was also using this time to search through some possible candidates to replace Kelly's position on the Normandy.

They didn't necessarily need to have the same skills as her. In fact, they really just needed the right qualifications for serving on the Normandy in general. Austin felt also that they didn't really need another physiologist if he was honest.

So far, the Major had gone through 69 academy graduates and he hadn't made a final choice yet. He still hadn't found who he felt would be the right person for serving on the Normandy. A lot of them seemed more skilled in the field than on a ship.

That all changed however when Austin saw the 70th. **Her** profile looked quite good. Loads of good qualifications, a degree in College, and she was a combat specialist. Not bad frankly. In fact, this was by far the best one he'd seen out of the list of 70 he'd been given. He dared say in fact that this woman seemed perfect for the job.

Scrolling down the datapad, he clicked the button and made all the arrangements for her to be transferred to the Normandy. It would be maybe another month, two at most, until she arrived, but that was not a problem. With the Collectors destroyed they had nothing but time right now.

Currently all of the Helldiver crew had been gathered in Dell's workshop under his request.

"Early birthday presents for you all. Since returning to Arkadia, Sill and I have been working and some huge new upgrades for you all. Some of them have even been designed for you specifically in mind." the Arkane announced.

He indicated over to his workstation which was practically overflowing with hundreds of new upgrades.

Everyone seemed quite excited by this and they started looking at some of the new designs and upgrades Dell had built.

Dash in particular seemed the most excited about this. So much so, he couldn't contain it.

"Hell yeah! It's upgrade time!"

Dell suddenly noticed that Austin was somewhere different. He had a control panel in his hand and he was stood in front of a holographic projection of his suit.

"Shepard, what are you doing?" he asked.

"Giving my armour a redesign." Austin replied.

It was now that Dell saw that parts of the hologram armour had been removed and some had been replaced with some new parts.

"Really? You've been the same way for more than 10 years. Why change it now?" Sandra asked.

"A lot's changed. Besides, I also got given a special cape which denotes my Knighthood. I'd like to start wearing it with my armour. Plus, admittedly, my current look does seem a bit… obsolete and I think I should have something that better shows my rank as a Major." said Austin. It was now that everyone noticed that Austin did indeed have a shoulder cape draped over his arm and that a hologram of the same cape was attached to the back of the armour "Here's what I've done so far."

Dell examined the hologram in more detail. So far, Austin had added more plate armour to his new look which gave him much tougher and more muscular tone.

"Actually, that's not bad. The extra musculature also leaves some space for some of the new upgrades. This'll work well." he said.

"Thanks, Dell." said Austin. "It can definitely be built with what we have, right?"

"Please, I packed enough upgrades and new armour parts for Griffin, and he's twice your size. Redesigning you will be easy." said Dell.

At that moment, Sarah entered. A large container was also hovering behind her as it followed.

"Austin, while you're working on that, I recently got a hold of something you can maybe incorporate into your new look." she said.

Now interested in seeing what Sarah had in the container, both Austin and Dell walked up to it. The N7 marine opened it to reveal another set of armour. More specifically, it was a set of armour called The Blood Dragon armour.

Though it was sci-fi in look, it had a somewhat medieval feel to it as well due to the armour's styling.

"Wow! Sarah, this is… where'd you get this?" Austin asked in surprise.

"Some of my friends in the N7 program acquired it from a raid on a Cerberus base. They were debating what to do with it when I found out. I made the necessary calls to get a hold of it and thought you might like it." Sarah smiled.

"You shouldn't have, Sister." Austin smiled as he hugged her.

"Better still, it's got a Dragon on it. Yeah, I can definitely use bits of this for my armour." said Austin.

True enough, the large blood red tattoo of a Dragon was on the front left hand side of the armour and extended all the way to the back.

"Will it be compatible though?" Sarah asked. There was of course the worry that Austin couldn't use two together since they were both two different sets of armour.

"Helldiver armour is designed with maximum customization in mind and it's also built to be compatible with armour like this." said Austin.

Dell also examined the armour closely. He also scanned it with his omni tool. From his reaction, the results seemed to be pretty positive.

"Hmm, definitely compatible. But, the metal might not be as strong as Helldiver armour." he said.

"Don't you a special chemical for that, though? Converts weaker metal into Helldiver armour, or is that just a myth?" Sarah asked.

"Even if I can't use the parts, they can easily be copied." said Austin.

"No need. She's right about the chemical, it'll work for this. Trust me." said Dell.

"Well, if you're sure." said Austin.

As he did, he pressed a couple of buttons on the control panel he was holding. A holographic copy of the armour was projected above the armour so it was ready for Austin to start adding the bits he wanted to his own armour.

"You can't use all of it though." Dell advised.

"Don't worry, Dell. I wasn't planning to. I'm only gonna use bits of it. Specifically, the chest bit, especially the Dragon Symbol, that's definitely going on." said Austin.

Sure enough, the hologram of the chest piece separated from the main armour and joined onto the hologram of Austin's Helldiver armour.

"Isn't that were you're N7 logo is though?" Sarah asked.

"Doesn't matter now though, does it? Shepard's not in the Alliance anymore." said Alaara, who was still trying out loads of new upgrades with the others.

"Officially, yes. Unofficially though, I am still in the N7 program. That's why I've still been wearing my N7 colours. I wouldn't' be allowed to wear them if I wasn't still in the program." Austin explained.

"That's nice to hear." Said Sarah.

"Anyway, the logo's not a problem. I'll just move it so that it's on the right side of my chest. That way it doesn't' overlap the Blood Dragon." Austin continued.

Sure enough, the N7 logo on the hologram's chest moved so that was now on the right side and well clear of the blood Dragon.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, the shoulder and forearm parts I'll use as well. I like their medieval look. Think I'll also use the back. I'd like to use the helmet as well if possible." said Austin.

The shoulder and forearm parts, along with the back part joined onto the armour. The helmet however simply remained separated. Austin would need to dismantle that and adjust the pieces first.

"Yeah, that can work. You'll need to be specific where the pieces go on your helmet though." said Dell.

"I'll handle that bit." said Austin.

"What about the legs?" Sill asked.

"Hmm, they're not quite as armoured as I'd like. I like the hip bits though. I think I'll use them. Other than that though, I think that's it."

Finally, the hologram hip parts joined Austin's armour. All he had to do now was take the Blood Dragon helmet apart and make the holographic model that would tell the computer where bits of that helmet went exactly on his triangular Helldiver helmet. After that, he simply had to finalize the design.

"Well, you get set to work designing the final look using the holo Armour builder. Meanwhile, I'll check the others." said Dell.

Ventra meanwhile had found a new shoulder mounted plasma cannon that was shaped very much like a crossbow, but without the string.

"Gotta say, I love this." said the Turian.

"Had a feeling you might. It was designed with you I mind. Sadly we couldn't make it an actually crossbow. It would fire fine, but we couldn't get it too reload automatically. Always had to be done by hand. So we settled for it being a plasma cannon resembling crossbow." said Dell.

Kraan meanwhile, had now found a new weapon which was both a blend of a massive axe similar to his, and a minigun.

"Nice." the Krogan smiled.

"That's a good look for you, Kraan." said Griffin.

"Got anything sporty?" Dash asked.

"Might do. I need someone to try this one out anyway."

After a few minutes, Dell had finished installing, what he'd said, would be a new stealth system into Dash.

"Ready?" he asked.

"I was born ready. Fire it up!" said Dash.

There was a slight humming sound as the upgrade powered up.

"Okay, it's on. Do you feel any different?" Dell asked.

"No. Am I invisible? Huh, am I? Can you see me?" Dash said, rather quickly.

"Calm down." Said Dell. "No. I can still see you. Try jumping."

Dash immediately jumped up into the air. Still nothing unexpected happened.

"Jump!"

"I jumped. Did that work, Dell? I can do it again. Please, let me do it again. Want me to jump again? I'll do it right now. I won't even stop. Letmejump! Letmejump! Letmejump! Why aren't you answering me when I talk with my mouth?!" said Dash, now really fast. Even he never talked this fast before.

"Hmm, walk over there." Said Dell. "I have a theory. This is either super healing, or super-"

He was interrupted though when Dash started walking but it suddenly tuned into a run and he sped right off at practically 60 mph, and whooping at the top of his voice.

"Wooooohoooooo!"

"-speed." Dell finished. "Hmmm, so that's where it went."

Dash practically ran five circles around the entire workshop.

"Slow down! Slow down! SLOW DOWN, DASH!" Dell yelled. But he'd said it too late.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAA-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOWW!"

Dash ran straight at a nearby wall and unable to slow down, smacked right into it with a loud clang.

"Imbecile." Dell muttered.

"Ow! Whoa, Dell. Hey, did you see that? Did you see? I saw it. I saw it. Totally. Did you see? I hit that wall. Man, that was fast. It was super-fast. I'm so fast…God, so fast! Why's it so hot in here?!" said Dash quickly.

"Dash, calm down!" said Dell, much more sternly this time.

"I'm calm. I'm totally calm. You be calm! Why would you say to be calm when I'm already calm?!Isn't it obvious that I'm calm?! That doesn't make any sense! You should make some sense! Why's it so hot in here?!" said Dash.

"What's with all the racket?" Austin asked. He was finding it hard to concentrate with Dash's constant talking.

"Hey, Shepard! Dell is doing some experiments, and I'm helping him, Shepard. Right now we doing where everyone talks super slow and the lights are bright and I get to smell clouds and man is it so hot in here!" said Dash.

"I thought I was installing a new cloaking tech on him. Turns out I accidently installed my prototype speed booster." Dell explained.

"Dumb question, but is it meant to speed him up mentally as well as physically?" Austin asked.

"Like I said, not tested yet. Must be a malfunction." Said Dell.

"Well just turn it off."

"I can't. Not while he's awake. It's speeding up his brain as well as his body. If I turn it off while he's still awake it might cause brain damage." Said Dell.

"In Dash's case, that wouldn't be anything new." Said Kraan.

"I heard…" Dash went to say, but he then suddenly stopped and just fell to the ground.

"What just happened?" Austin asked.

"Well, I put on timer on it as a safety mechanism just in case it might go faulty. Looks like the timer ended and it's put him to sleep. Should give me enough time to remove the booster so I can finish it." Said Dell.

At that moment, the pad in Austin's hand lit up.

"Finished?" Dell asked.

"Yep. All finalised, I've checked everything thoroughly... it's pretty much ready to be assembled." Austin replied as he walked up to chamber that would start assembling his new suit inside now that the holo design had finished compiling everything together like it was a jigsaw puzzle.

With nothing more to say, Dell simply nodded.

Austin activated the panel and several robot arms appeared out of the floor. They began taking Austin's current Helldiver armour and the Blood Dragon armour apart piece by piece as the new assembly began.

_"ETA to completion: 10 minutes."_

"While your new armour's being built, I've got something that's meant for everyone. I just need a proper test." said Dell.

The Arkane held up what looked like a tiny chip of some kind.

"A tiny microchip?" Sandra asked.

"It's an implant." Dell corrected.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt to try." Said Sandra. "What does it do?"

"Well, let me inject this into you and you'll find out." said Dell as he held up a large injection gun.

"Wait, inject?" Sandra asked.

Before she could get an answer though, Dell took her wrist in his hand and fired the gun into it. She felt a bit of sting from it. It was nothing too painful, but it did sting a lot.

"Ouch."

"Don't be such a baby." said Dell. He then pointed to Sandra's armour which was currently neatly unassembled on the floor.

"Alright, you see your armour over there?"

"Yeah…

"Summon it to you?"

"What?"

"Go on. Just concentrate very hard and imagine it assembling around you without the use of a machine." said Dell.

Sandra simply shrugged and began focusing. To her utter surprise, one of the gauntlets from her armour suddenly hovered in the air and zoomed towards her, immediately sliding onto the correct place on her arm.

"Whoa!" Austin exclaimed.

"But's that's not possible. I'm not a biotic. Was that the implant?" Sandra asked in surprise.

"Gotta say, Dell, you may have outdone yourself this time. How'd you make this possible?" Austin asked.

"I experimented around with several biotic amps. Eventually, I found a way of making a slightly different version. In this case, you can now summon and control every piece of your armour using your brain." Dell explained.

"So these aren't biotic amps?" Sandra asked.

"No. Besides, it only applies to your armour. You can't control or move anything else." said Dell.

"Does it apply to weapons and armour attachments as well?" Austin asked.

"The implant takes note of any attachment, weapon, or anything else attached or bonded to your armour. You simply think it, and it does it."

"And you made one for each of us?"

"Since the test has been so successful, I plan on making them for all Helldivers. I just felt you'd be the best ones to use it for field tests. Seems perfect for a squad of Helldiver's like you." Dell smiled, quite proud of his work.

At that moment, the suit assembly finished the final part of Austin's armour. Rather than being assembled outside of him whole like Helldiver armours used to be, it was now in a neatly arranged unassembled pile. To the untrained eye, it simply looked like a large, oddly coloured briefcase.

"Well in that case, let me try it with my new look." said Austin.

"By my guest, Shepard."

Austin stretched his arm forward and concentrated as best he could. At first, nothing seemed to happen.

"Those who are biotics will find it much easier. Soldiers like you though, it may take some getting used to." said Dell.

"We don't have to think about the position of each bit individually do we? That's gonna be very tricky if we have to get it exactly right." said Austin, still trying to concentrate. The unassembled armour moved a tiny bit, but so far no individual part did anything.

"Don't' worry about that. The implant has a small cybernetic brain that knows where each individual bit has to go. You simply tell the suit to assemble with your mind, and it handles the rest." Dell explained.

That seemed to make it bit easier for Austin. First the right gauntlet attached to him, and then the large unassembled pile broke apart into loads of parts, each of which flew at Austin and attached to exactly the right spots on his suit mesh. Within just a few seconds. His brand new look was fully assembled.

Everyone looked in awe at their leader's new look. He looked amazing.

Austin had replaced his original armour style with a more tougher and muscular one. In fact, the only thing that did seem to remain from his original armour was the writs and hands and the N7 colour scheme which had been painted onto the right shoulder of the Blood Dragon armour which of course replaced the original.

Easily noticeable of course was Austin's new cape which hung from his right shoulder down to where the cape stopped at his waist, the back corners of his shoulder also had some large extra plating on them. At first, they looked oddly like vents, but it was easy to see now that they were obviously just styled like that.

The helmet of course retained the exact same familiar triangular shape that all Helldivers had to keep the same. Austin however had done an excellent job of attaching the dissembled part of the Blood Dragon armour helmet in certain places. The circular parts that had the speech lights on them had been attached on either side of the helmet just as they had been on their original version and also the glowing red visor that made up the eye of the Blood Dragon armour had been cleverly placed over the front so that it looked like Austin's helmet now had an actually glowing eye.

Then of course, there was the Blood Dragon logo. True enough, it adorned Austin's left side going over the right shoulder all the way to the back. It really did give him a somewhat intimidating warlord look. And then last but not least of course, Excalibur and all of Austin's other weapons had attached to his back.

"Well, how do I look?" Austin asked.

It seemed his armour had a new voice changer as he almost sounded nothing like himself. His voice was deeper and somewhat more metallic.

"Whoa!"

"Looking good, Bro! Looking very good." said Sarah approvingly.

"Shepard 2.0… absolutely badass." said Dash, giving two thumbs off.

"Really does suit you actually. The cape also adds to it. You really look like a high ranking Major now."

The cape itself also had a symbol on it as well. The symbol was that of a silver figure wearing a Greek helmet with a sci-fi look.

As Austin looked around inside his helmet, he found that the HUD looked different as well. It had an even more advanced look than before.

"We got a system upgrade too I see." he said.

"Thought you might like it with your new look. I've given this HUD to everyone of course, but you're the first." said Dell. "There's nothing to new at the moment. It just has a slightly newer look and faster processing power. Bit more efficiency and performance as well.

To really complete the new look, Austin drew Excalibur and activated his omni blade. As he tried however, the omni tool came on, but not the actual blade.

"What's wrong with this thing?" said Austin as he tried to get it working.

"Oh sorry. Forgot about that. Hang on, I'll fix It." said Dell.

Dell fiddled around with Austin's omni tool for a quick minute, before he finished.

"There, that should do it. Try it now."

Austin once again activated his omni tool. This time, the blade came on.

Instead of the usual omni blade sound however, it came on with the sound of a Lightsaber from Star Wars. The blade was also much longer now. In fact, it was so long that the lower part of it actually went across his wrist.

"You upgraded this too?" Austin asked as he gave the new omni blade a few swings.

"I thought you might like a new weapon with double use. Because this new omni blade is so big now, it can also be use defensively as well as for attack." said Dell.

"Oh, so I can use it as a shield as well? That's quite handy actually." said Austin, impressed at Dell's thinking with this.

"Not as clumsy or random as a blaster, as they often say." said Dell.

As Austin deactivated the blade, his omni tool suddenly bleeped, this time with a message.

"Seems I might even have an opportunity to field test my new armour as well. The Arkane Council just gave me a new mission." said Austin.

"This soon?" Alaara asked.

"Well, it's not really a mission per say. They found a lead on the Shadow Broker and they'd like me to give it to Xun." said Austin.

He noticed Liara's attention suddenly snap to him instantly at the mention of the Shadow Broker. He hadn't forgotten why she wanted the Shadow Broker dead as much as Xun did.

"Think I know why we've been given it now. I think they've just finished the Normandy's refit now." said Dell.

"Liara, Dash, suit up. You're coming with me for this one." he said.

Liara simply nodded while everyone else took this as a message to start picking the upgrades they wanted as they would only be staying a short time.

"Get ready for a major remodel, fellas! We're back in hardware mode!" Dash cheered.

* * *

Everyone, including Joker, made their way to the docking bay. They'd expected that the changes wouldn't be huge. They were very wrong.

The Normandy they saw was very different from the SR2. It was even larger than before. Three times bigger than the original Normandy and twice as large as the 2nd. Although this new Normandy was still the SR2, it had received so many changes and upgrades that was practically a brand new ship altogether hence why it had been christened the SR3.

The SR3 of course still had the exact same style as the SR2, but the main thrusters had been changes lightly so that they were now at angles which gave the SR3 a slightly more Stealth like look to it.

Taking a full tour of the ship could wait until they got back from Illium. Delivering the data on the Shadow Broker to Xun was top priority, especially when it concerned the Shadow Broker.

It was quite a surprise for the three Helldivers when they walked into Xun's office. Due to Austin's new armour design, she didn't recognize them.

"Who are you, Soldier? What are you doing on Illium?" she asked.

"Xun? It's me. Shepard." Said Austin, rather surprised that a close friend of his wouldn't recognize him.

"Shepard?! Oh god, I'm so sorry! I hadn't realised you'd changed your look." said Xun in surprise.

"Should've let you know in advance. My bad." said Austin.

Xun got up from her seat and embraced her friend warmly. Austin of course hugged her back.

"It's so good to see you again, my old friend. I heard about your victory against the Collectors. Well done! I also understand you're a Knight now. Congratulations." said Xun.

"Thanks, Xun. It's good to see you as well." Austin smiled.

Xun sat back down at her desk and Austin also took a seat.

"Not that I'm complaining, but it seems odd you'd come back here. Has something come up?" the information broker asked.

"You could say that. The Arkane Council gave me some data on where to find the Shadow Broker. Interested?" said Austin.

"Absolutely! Let's see what you've got."

Austin handed Xun the data and she accessed it. The data began projecting loads of different images simultaneously. Xun studied it very closely.

"Hmm, it looks like a leaked message between Shadow Broker operatives. Hints very heavily to the location, and…"

Another image appeared, this time it seemed to be of a Drell.

"Goddess! It's about Feron. He's still alive!" said Liara in delight.

"You're friend? The one who helped recover my body from the Shadow Broker?" Austin asked.

"The same. He sacrificed himself to save Me." said Liara.

"I'm quite surprised. I'd never found anything suggesting he was alive." Said Xun.

"After two years, I hadn't even dreamed…" said Liara, struggling to continue her sentence.

"Sounds like you and Feron were close. Nothing I should know about?" Austin asked teasingly.

"Austin, stop it." Liara chuckled. "No. Feron and I were just friends. Nothing more. Besides, for two years I made it crystal clear that I was, as you humans say… taken."

"You're engaged also, I see. Congratulations." Xun smiled, noting Liara's ring.

"Thank you, Xun." Liara smiled. "It's strange though. Feron betrayed me more than once. He was double-dealing for Cerberus, for the Shadow Broker… But in the end, he sacrificed himself for me. I owe him."

"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, love. We'll get him back. What's the next step?" Austin asked.

"Xun?" Liara asked.

"I don't know yet. We need to prepare, to think." said Xun. "I'm going home. Use my terminal if you need any local Intel."

"You okay?" Austin asked as Xun once again got up from her desk.

"For two years, Liara and I have been plotting revenge. But now we have the chance to make it a rescue operation." said Xun.

"Let us help, Xun. Liara wants this just as much. Why don't we come by your apartment later?" Austin suggested.

"Good idea. Hopefully by then, I'll have a plan. Zàijiàn, Shepard." said Xun.

The Chinese Helldiver left, leaving just the three of them.

"Thank you, Austin. You've no idea how much this means to me." Liara smiled, retracting her helmet.

"I've seen many times what you had to go through to rescue me, Liara. Guess this is my way of returning the favour." said Austin, also retracting his helmet since he knew where this was going.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Dash simply rolled his eyes as the engaged couple kissed.

"Get a room, you two." he sighed.

* * *

Finding Xun's apartment hadn't been hard, but it looked like getting in would be. There were police skycars parked outside and Austin could already see a police line blocking the exit. Inside the apartment were several officers scanning the place. There were bullet holes in the window and the place was a bit of a mess. Something had happened here.

"What's going on?" Austin asked.

"This area is sealed off. Please…" but the leader officer stopped abruptly when she saw that the three of them were Helldivers. "Oh! A Helldiver. I hadn't realised they'd sent you."

"Why is this area sealed off?" Austin repeated.

"Someone tried to kill your friend, Major Shepard." said a voice.

An Asari had appeared at the top of the stairs. She was dressed in some sort of blue armour which had a white symbol on the left shoulder. Something about that symbol looked extremely familiar to Austin, but he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Thank you, officer. Your people are dismissed." she said.

"Wait, you can't just do that!" the officer objected.

"Already done."

All the officers rather reluctantly left. The armoured Asari then made her way down the stairs and introduced herself.

" _Where have I seen that symbol before? It looks so familiar."_ Austin kept asking in his mind. It was nagging him like crazy.

"Tela Vasir. Special Tactics and Recon."

Now Austin remembered. Now though, he was starting to wish that he hadn't as it brought a bitter amount of anger in him.

"Spectre?"

"Heard you weren't reinstated. Too bad – you did good work." said Vasir. "So I assume you had business with your friend this evening, Major?"

"Yes. But I don't see how that's any concern of yours, Spectre. This is Helldiver business. You're not supposed to be here." said Austin bitterly.

Despite that she'd not been a Helldiver as long as Austin had; even Liara was familiar with the relationship between Helldivers and Spectres. They didn't hate each other, but they certainly didn't trust one another.

Helldivers disliked the idea of someone having unlimited power with no accountability. It made them too unpredictable and it also went against the Helldiver code. Though the Helldivers had many of the same courtesies that Spectres had, they had rules to go by. This prevented them from abusing their power and falling to their pride and greed.

Plus, Alpha Squad, and Austin especially, had more reason than most to dislike Spectres. They'd had to work with a few in their time. They knew not all Spectres were bad, but all the ones that they'd been forced to work with had been nothing but bossy, arrogant and selfish. The last one they'd had to work with had finally crossed a line when he ordered them to pursue their target, which involved leaving many innocent civilians to die. That went against one of the unbreakable prime rules of the Helldivers. Aside from the nobility and responsible use of power, one of those rules was to never let an innocent life die, even if it meant abandoning the mission. (Very similar to a part of the Justicar code)

Alpha naturally had refused to follow the Spectre's orders and had saved many lives that day. The Spectre had attempted to have them all court martialled and discharged for disobeying him, but the Arkane's and Helldiver command had supported their side. They'd been so furious in fact that they had chosen to delay letting the Salarians join the Helldivers since the Spectre's performance made them feel that the species was too arrogant and therefore not yet ready to join them. Even to this day, the Salarians were still not allowed to join their ranks as a result of this.

The Citadel Council naturally had been furious. Of course, they knew better than to argue with the Arkanes and so instead they had revoked the Spectre's status for his poor judgement. Both sides had also come to the agreement that Helldivers and Spectres would never work together again.

Also, Austin being forced to briefly join the Spectres against his will, and Saren's betrayal had only added to Austin's particular dislike for them in general. He knew of course not all of them were like that. Nihilus for example had been okay.

At the moment however, he was less than pleased to see a Spectre here.

"I'm well within my rights to inspect an attempted murder, Shepard. As a former, Spectre, surely you understand?" Vasir objected.

"No. I don't. You've obviously forgotten that Helldivers and Spectres do not mix. We're not allies." said Austin.

"We can argue about this all you like, Shepard. We don't have to be allies, but I'm not leaving until I solve this attempted murder." said Vasir sternly.

"You Spectres are all the same. Selfish, playing lose with the law and sticking your nose where it doesn't belong." said Austin. "But I can see you're not gonna leave, no matter what I say. I won't waste my breath. My friend was hunting a lead on a rival Information Broker."

"The Shadow Broker? Dangerous enemy to have." said Vasir.

"I didn't say…"

"It's not hard to guess. Xun's second only to the Shadow Broker, so it's no surprise that she'd want to take him down."

"Did she leave anything indicating where she was going?" Austin asked.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be sifting through her crap." Vasir replied

"What did you find on Xun's terminal?"

"Not much. She wiped her drive before she left. She knew you were coming though. She must've left something."

"Possibly." said Austin.

"You knew her better than I do. Where would she have hidden her backups?" Vasir asked.

"I should look around." said Austin.

Vasir simply nodded and went to searching through the papers that been scattered all over the place.

Xun's apartment was very much like her home on Arkadia. It had the exact same style and colours. Xun was very much into embracing her Chinese lifestyle and was not afraid of showing it. All around the apartment were several Chinese lights, bright red Chinese silk which decorated the entire apartment, and among many other parts of Chinese culture. Several Chinese statues, particularly two Gold Chinese Dragons, and even a few paintings.

It did make Austin wish they could be here under different circumstances. The whole place actually looked very nice.

Austin walked up to the gunshot holes in the window.

"The rifle used to do that wasn't standard issue. Her shielding technology deflected the shots, but they still managed to penetrate the glass." said Vasir, stating the obvious.

" _I'm not blind in this thing, you bitch!"_ Austin thought.

A few display cases also held some valuable antiques. Most of them were from ancient Chinese times, but there was one that stood out of place completely. Liara in particular looked at it with astonishment.

"Is that...?"

"Part of my old armour." Austin finished for her.

Inside the case was large bit of Helldiver forearm armour. Austin instantly recognised it part of his set. Obviously it had been replace when Dell fixed him up when he returned to duty and now his new look had a different piece entirely. Still, it was surprising to see the missing piece here.

"I never did recover that piece. I always wondered what happened to It." said Liara, looking at the old piece of N7 from Austin that she'd added to her own armour in honour of him when he'd died. Naturally of course, Austin saw no need to have the original piece back and had let her keep it.

"Looks like someone didn't like you much, either." Vasir commented.

"Not sure what planet that is." said Liara as she and the others observed a large painting.

"It's Earth. More specifically, Ancient China." said Austin.

"I had no idea Xun was **that** nostalgic." said Dash.

Having searched all of the bottom part of the apartment as best they could, they no checked upstairs.

All that was really up on this level was just a large bed, an armour stand (which naturally was empty, a weapon's stand where Xun kept her Katana (also empty) and a small bedside table which had a few pictures on it.

Austin noticed one particular big one and picked it up. In the picture was all of Alpha Squad with Xun also among them.

"I… that's a picture of the time she shared her last mission with Alpha. I knew we were good friends, but I never knew she cared that much." said Austin.

Xun's friendship with Alpha hadn't been plan sailing all the time. The information broker was occasionally very unpredictable. Very often, she'd done things unannounced and completely spontaneous. It had annoyed her teammates quite a bit sometimes.

"She told me herself that she'd never had truer friends." Said Liara.

The picture then suddenly changed when Austin's finger touched the actual picture rather than just the frame.

"It changed when I touched it."

"Must be keyed to your ID. What does it show now?" Liara asked.

"Another picture of China. Xun did leave a message." said Austin.

"There are a few Chinese looking objects around the apartment." said Dash.

"Let's see what we can find."

Xun had always been rather wealthy due to her vast information network and the fact that she also worked for the Arkanes. They paid handsomely for her services, which in turn led to her full cooperation with them. From many of the artefacts in the room, Xun had obviously used a lot of the money to giver herself ideally luxurious living conditions.

"Wow! That must be worth a fortune." said Dash as he looked at one of the two Dragon Statues.

"If I were you, I wouldn't touch it then." said Austin.

"Strange that she'd take a display sword." said Liara as she observed the empty weapon rack.

"That sword was the one she always used. From what she told me, that Katanas is ancestral, used by many generations of her family. There's no way she'd risk losing it."

Austin then walked up to the other Dragon statue. He was sure he could see something very small glinting inside its mouth. Sure enough, as he reached in, he felt something and pulled it out.

"Backup disk." said Dash.

"Shh!"

"You still don't trust her?" Liara asked.

"Spectres aren't allowed to become involved in Helldiver business at all. The Citadel Council themselves agreed to that. Vasir shouldn't be here at all. I don't think the Council knows about this." Austin whispered. "Keep quiet. Let me do the talking."

Dash and Liara simply nodded while Austin scanned the contents of the backup disk just to see if there was anything that Vasir would be better off not seeing.

"Vasir, we've got something." he said when he'd finally finished.

"Backup disk. Let's try it on her terminal." said the Asari.

Inserting the backup disk into the terminal made the screen show a recording of a call Xun had made to a Salarian not long ago.

"It looks like she recorded a call." said Vasir.

" _What have you got for me, Sekat?"_ Xun's voice asked.

" _It was tricky, but you paid for the best. I can narrow it down to a cluster, maybe even a system. Gotta say, thought, Xun – you're making me a little nervous. How big is the trouble that could come out of this?"_ Sekat asked.

" _Relax, Sekat. I'll see you in a couple of hours."_

The call ended, leaving Vasir somewhat confused.

"She didn't give away any location information. Not quite as helpful as it could've been." she said.

"Hmm, I might know where Sekat is. He had a certain uniform that might help." said Austin as he and the others turned to leave.

"Hey! Don't think you're just leaving me!" Vasir objected.

"You found out who's responsible. You investigation's over. It's best you stay out of our activities, Vasir. We'll handle the rest." said Austin defiantly.

"Fine! If you insist." said Vasir crossly.

* * *

"Dash, you're obsession with speed, and I'm saying this a friend... concerns me." said Austin as they got out of the skycar which Dash had just been driving a bit faster than meant to be. In front of them of stood the Dracon trade centre.

"You sure this is the place?" Liara asked.

"Yeah. He did actually say in the message, I just edited it out. I still don't think Vasir was there by coincidence." said Austin.

Right at that moment, the building suddenly exploded.

"XUN'S IN THERE!"

Another explosion followed this time larger. So large in fact that it swept all three Helldivers off their feet.

"Goddess." said Liara as she got up and saw the scale of the destruction.

"Come on! We've gotta get in there!" said Austin urgently.

* * *

Little chance that there'd be any more survivors. Any that had survived the blast had already assembled outside the building. Anyone else was dead.

After a while of making their way through the building, the finally reached what they were told was Sekat's office. Either him or Xun had to be there somewhere. Just as they were about to enter however, they heard to shots being fired from the other side of the door.

When they entered, they found the dead body of a Salarian and a merc of some kind. Most surprising of all though, was a familiar face.

"Damn it. If I'd been a few seconds faster, I could've stopped them." said Vasir as she holstered her gun.

"You?! What are you doing here? Are you following us?!" Austin demanded.

"The explosion could be seen half way across the city. As a Spectre, it's my job to investigate." said Vasir.

"For once, I can't argue with that." said Austin as he and everyone else holstered their guns too. "Is this Sekat?"

"Must have been." Vasir replied.

Austin checked the Salarian's body for the data. Nothing.

"Damn! No sign of that data Xun talked about. Looks like a dead end." he cursed.

"Speaking of which, did you find your friend's body?" Vasir.

"You mean this body?" a voice asked.

Everyone turned to Xun's fully armoured figure uncloak right in front of them, and with her gun aimed straight at Vasir.

"Xun. You nearly had us worried there." said Austin.

"I'm more concerned right now about why you're in the company of the one that tried to kill Me." said Xun accusingly.

"You've had a rough day, so I'll let that slide. Why don't you put that gun?" said Vasir.

"Don't take me for a fool, Spectre! I saw you! I doubled back after I left. I watched you break into my apartment." said Xun.

"I knew there was something odd about you. You work for the Shadow Broker!" said Austin. Immediately, he, Liara and Dash all drew their weapons. "You didn't know where Xun went because she hid the message. You needed me to find it for you."

"Nothing personal, Shepard. Just needed a little help tracking down Xun." Said Vasir.

"She must've followed you after you left my apartment. Once she had my location, she signalled the Shadow Broker's forces. They bombed the building to take me out. She found Sekat, took his data, and killed him." said Xun.

"I'm guessing she's still got the disk on her." said Liara.

"Good guess. Not that you'll ever see what's on It." said Vasir. As she spoke, she held up the disk in her left hand. Everyone failed to notice however that her left hand was glowing with biotics. The glass window that she had her back facing too suddenly cracked. "YOU PURE BLOOD BITCH!"

The window smashed completely and Vasir threw the shards right at them. That had obviously been done is desperation though as the shards just simply shattered upon contact with the Helldiver's armour.

Realising that hadn't worked, Vasir made a run for the window. Xun however ran too and caught up with her. She tackled the Asari Spectre and they both smashed through the other window.

Vasir used her biotics to slow down their decent as they fell. The two wrestled furiously before Vasir overpowered Xun and kicked her to the floor, the force of the impact temporarily disorienting her due to her armour being less thicker than normal soldiers. Just as she was about to finish the Helldiver off however, Austin then jumped down as well.

Naturally of course, Austin had no need to slow his decent and he simply smashed into the ground as he landed. Vasir immediately broke into a run for the exit. Austin activated his shoulder cannon and tried to fire at Vasir's feet in an attempt to trip her up. He had to be careful not to kill her since he'd risk destroying the data if the plasma vaporised her. He fired two shots, but they both missed.

"Hold still you little..."

He fired another shot which hit the wall above the doorway causing it to give way, fall and block the exit. Vasir was now cornered.

"Nowhere to run, Vasir. You're only exit's blocked and we outnumber you 4 to 1." said Austin as Liara helped Xun up.

"Think you better count again, Shepard!" said Vasir.

The Asari Spectre suddenly took a detonator from behind her back and pressed it. There was an explosion, and a hole appeared in the wall above her. Several more mercs jumped out of it. These however, weren't mercs with guns, they had melee weapons, more specifically Ninja ones.

"Say hello to the Shadow Broker's private army, Major. KILL THEM!"

The Ninja mercs charged at the four Helldivers. The group fired a few shots at the Ninjas before they Austin, Liara and Xun switched to their swords.

Austin and Liara in particular put their mind link to good use against these ninjas, especially seeing as they used martial arts in the fighting styles as well, something neither of them had an easy task defending against.

Dash continued sticking to his pistols and simply shooting these Broker ninjas at distance. If any did get close, he could use his new speed booster (which Dell had finally fixed and decided it was ready to be used) to dodge their attacks.

Xun meanwhile was practically on a killing spree. Her extreme Katana and Kung Fu training, which she had learned and practiced ever since she was a little girl, was practically being use overtime. She cut, she dodged, she kicked, she blocked, and the ninjas were practically finding it impossible to hit her. She was too fast for them.

Two ninjas attempted to take her from both sides, but that didn't work either. She delivered a fast, swift kick the first one's neck, which succeed in disarming him at least while he struggled to breath, and the other she kicked in the chest which also disarmed him. With one quick slash from her Katana, she cut them both down with one slice.

Vasir meanwhile had remained back and was simply observing the battle. She had to admit though that Xun was really starting to piss her off, especially seeing as how she was cutting or kicking down the mercs like they were no challenge to her.

Vasir drew her pistol and aimed at Xun. She fired assuming that the bullet would kill her. To the Spectre's utter astonishment however; Xun's free left hand whipped out her metallic Chinese fan and blocked deflected the round easily, all while his concentration had been focussed solely on finishing off another Ninja merc.

Her focus now turned slowly to Vasir. She didn't say anything, but her body language clearly said "Did you really think it would be that easy?"

As the Helldiver slowly made her way towards the Asari however, she failed to notice a stray grenade roll towards the rubble blocking the exit. The explosion from it sent both opponents off their feet, but at the same time cleared the rubble.

Vasir didn't even hesitate at the chance and ran.

"Oh no you don't!" Xun yelled as she took off after the Spectre.

"Xun, wait!" Austin yelled.

Ducking under a swipe from the last ninja, he used his sword handle to punch the ninja in the face, and then run him through.

"Come on!"

Everyone immediately took off after Xun and Vasir.

* * *

They reached outside where they'd first entered the trade centre. Both Vasir and Xun were taking cover behind spate skycars as they fired each other. Unlike many Helldivers, Xun used firearms very little and relied more on her martial arts and sword training. Also, because her armour was so light, she could move very fast.

Seeing the other Helldivers heading her way, Vasir knew she had to retreat. Activating her omni tool, she summoned her own skycar to her and jumped in.

"Gāisǐ" Xun swore.

"Come on! We can still catch her." said Dash as he hopped into the skycar, followed by everyone else.

"You sure about this, Shepard?" Xun asked concernedly when she saw Dash would be driving.

"If anyone can keep up with a speeding skycar, it's him." said Austin. Still, the Helldiver put the seat belt on just to be safe.

"Yeah, but are you sure he can drive this thing?" Xun asked.

"They taught us these things in basic training. It's just like riding a bike." said Dash. "Please make sure you're seats and tray tables are in their upright and locked position."

The skycar took off and quickly gave chase.

"What's a bike?" Liara asked.

* * *

"She's getting away!"

Dash literally had his foot down as they sped through Ilium's skyways. Even at these hours, traffic was somewhat heavy. Even Vasir looked like she was only just able to avoid crashing into other cars.

"A head on collision at this speed..." said Xun nervously. While she was fine and calm in combat, flying and high speed car chases made her a bit nervous.

"Yeah. I hear those can be bad for you." said Austin.

"Hang a right! No, wait, left!" Said Xun urgently.

"I'm on her." Said Dash, a bit annoyed by the constant nagging he was getting.

They followed Vasir into a tunnel. The traffic seemed fine, but that was until Vasir caused a small crash which then lead to something even bigger crashing.

"Truck." Xun warned.

"I know." Said Dash.

"TRUCK!" she yelled.

"I know."

As the truck crashed and skidded, Dash quickly pulled up to avoid it. It only just narrowly missed them though, which caused Xun to nearly scream, rather to her embarrassment.

"Yaaah!

"There we go."

"You're enjoying this?" said Liara. She too wasn't enjoying this any more than Xun.

Vasir continued to weave about the oncoming cars before she eventually dived right down. Dash was quick to follow. Everyone held on tight so as not to fall on the windscreen as they felt gravity pulling at them. Dash however was loving this.

Vasir eventually pulled up to avoid another truck that was slowly moving along. Dash however kept going down at full speed.

"Pull up, Dash. Pull up!" Austin said nervously as the truck got closer and closer.

Dash simply laughed in enjoyment before he finally pulled up right at the last minute.

"You know I don't like it when you do that!" Xun panted in shock.

"Sorry, Xun. I forgot you don't like flying." Dash chuckled.

"I don't mind flying, but what you're doing is suicide!" Xun yelled as Dash continued seeding like mad through all the traffic. Liara had gone very quiet after the dive bomb. She looked almost petrified and just about ready to faint.

Vasir managed to gain a bit more distance between them and headed through another tunnel. Dash went to follow, but Xun quickly stopped him.

"No. Keep going." said Xun quickly.

Dash simply obeyed and continued heading straight on.

"Where are we going? She went that way?" Austin argued.

"Shepard, if we keep this chase going on any longer, Vasir is gonna end up deep fried. Without that data, we lose our chance of finding the Shadow Broker." said Xun. "Don't worry, this is a shortcut."

"Good." Austin nodded.

"I think..."

* * *

Vasir sped past several other cars in the tunnel, as she continued to watch her rear view mirror. As she exited the tunnel, she found no sign of her pursuers. Smiling smugly, the Spectre relaxed and settled back into her seat. The Shadow Broker would indeed be pleased.

* * *

Xun's shortcut sadly had not worked and they had lost Vasir completely.

"Well we've lost her." Austin groaned in frustration.

"I'm deeply sorry, Shepard." Xun replied sarcastically.

"That was some shortcut, Xun. Vasir went completely the other way!" Austin complained "Once again you've..."

But before he could finish, Xun suddenly opened the doors and leapt out of the car.

"If you'll excuse me..." she said.

Everyone looked down as they watched the information broker plummet down head first.

"I hate it when she does that." said Austin.

Xun fell for a few seconds before she managed to coordinate herself just right and she landed on Vasir's skycar.

Noticing the Chinese Helldiver hanging onto her roof, Vasir braked hard in an attempt to shake Xun off. The force of the car slowing down so fast was enough to force Xun onto the front of the skycar and onto the windscreen, but she didn't fall off.

Xun immediately reached for her pistol and fired at the glass several times. Vasir quickly responded to this by ramming her skycar very hard against another one. The force of the crash caused Xun to slip slightly and lose her grip on the pistol, which fell far out of the information broker's reach.

Vasir then partly opened the skycar's doors and fired her own pistol at Xun. The Helldiver quickly slid over to the other side of the windscreen where the door couldn't open and therefore Vasir couldn't fire at her.

Vasir was quick to respond to this however and she immediately accelerated at top speed and also dived slightly, causing Xun to slide onto the roof again. This time though, the Chinese Helldiver was able to get a better grip and she was therefore able to use her free hand to draw her Katana from her back and plunge it through the roof, making a hole large enough for her arm to fit through.

Vasir struggled as Xun latched onto her gun arm and it flayed around violently. Vasir attempted to shoot Xun, but she only ended up shooting the car's controls.

The skycar started flying out of control and descending rapidly. Noticing that there would be a crash any second, Xun leapt from the car. She landed safely among several other parked cars while Vasir crashed into a hotel.

Dash, noticing the crash, set down in the car park and everyone got out.

"I've had better skycar rides." said Liara, a little dizzily.

When they found the crashed car, Vasir was gone. However, they noticed a trail of blood from the wreckage.

"Looks like she got hurt during the crash." said Liara.

"She's tough. I'll give her that much." said Austin.

"She's a Spectre." said Xun.

The trail led through one of the hotels bedroom which had a large holo-screen which projected an image of several Asari dancers.

"What kind of hotel is this?" Xun asked, slightly bewildered that she hadn't heard of this place before.

"Azure. It's a hotel with an… exotic edge. Azure slang for a part of the Asari body in certain parts of Illium." Said Liara.

Austin couldn't help but smile at Liara mentioning that. He wondered if Xun was familiar with the term. To his surprise, she wasn't and he had to do his best to contain his laughter.

"Where?" Xun asked.

"In the lower reaches, near the bottom." Liara replied.

"I meant where on the Asari body." Said Xun.

"So did I." said Liara, doing her best to hide her laughter when Xun's head suddenly turned sharply in her direction in shock, and for a brief second looked lower.

Even Austin and Dash had to do their best not to burst out laughing.

"For an information broker, I'm shocked that you don't' know that." Said Austin.

"Well, unlike you, Shepard, I haven't had sex with several Asari." Said Xun. "Not to mention bedding two squad mates."

"You know about that, huh?" Austin asked.

"Wait, you had sex with Alaara and Sandra?!" Dash asked in surprise.

"We'll talk about it later." Said Austin.

Since Liara was already familiar about that, having seen his thoughts during a meld, Austin didn't need to worry about explaining it to her. Alpha Squad however was a different matter, and Austin very much doubted that Dash would be able to keep his mouth shut about this.

"Our second in command?! I always knew you were a ladies man, Shepard, but damn!" said Dash.

"I said we'll talk about it later!" said Austin, more sternly this time.

The blood trail continued on before they finally caught sight of Vasir limping through Azure's restaurant.

"Vasir! It's over." Liara yelled.

Vasir simply groaned before she turned to one of the waitresses.

"Hey, hey you. Come here. What's your name?"

The Asari spectre used her biotics to fling the women into her arms and pointed her gun at her attackers.

"M-Mariana." said the women frighteningly.

"Mariana, you want to live, don't you? Tell those Helldivers you want to live." said Vasir.

"Let her go, Vasir!" Austin demanded.

"You're not in position to order me around, Shepard! All you had to do was walk away. Now it gets ugly." said Vasir, pointing her gun at Mariana's head.

"Please. I have a son." she begged.

"A son? I hope he gets to see you again. I've heard losing a parent is just horrific for children Scars them for life." said Vasir coldly.

"I'm going to end you, Vasir." Said the Asari angrily. That comment had obviously been aimed right at her.

"It's okay, Liara. We'll handle this… how we always do." said Austin.

"You want Mariana's little boy to grow up with a mommy, Shepard? That's not you. Besides, I know you're gonna let me go. You Helldiver code and training forbids you from letting an innocent civilian or hostage die. You're gonna have to remember you're training, Soldier." said Vasir evilly, confident that she'd now won.

"Hiding behind a hostage. No stomach for a real fight. Just like a Spectre." Austin taunted.

"Drop your thermal clips, Shepard! Power cells, too. I won't say it again!" Vasir yelled.

"Is that it?"

"What?!"

"Vasir, I sacrificed thousands of human lives to save the Destiny Ascension, I unleashed the Rachni on the galaxy. For your sake, I hope your only plan of escape doesn't hinge on my hesitating to shoot a damn hostage." said Austin.

"You're bluffing!" Vasir yelled as she once again pointed her gun at them.

"You're right. I am."

"What?

Only too late did Vasir notice Xun uncloak right behind her and disarm her gun arm.

"Go! Quickly!" she yelled.

Marian ran as the two opponents fought hand to hand with each other. Xun had her Kung Fu skills, but Vasir had her Spectre training which made her a match enough for the Helldiver. Vasir attempted a biotic swing at Xun, but she dodged under it and then delivered a kick to Vasir so hard that it threw her right into one of the fountains.

Before anyone had a chance to recover however, Vasir burst out of the water, her biotics flailing in anger.

"You'll pay for that, you bitch!" she yelled.

Vasir shot forward, taking Xun with her up to higher levels and they crashed through on of the windows.

"Xun!"

* * *

The two continued wrestling with each other as they crashed through the glass and into one of the hotel rooms. Both opponents pulled out their guns and attempted to shoot each other, but at the same time they grabbed each other's wrists, causing each shot to miss. Eventually, they both skidded to a halt, Vasir and top and with both guns aimed at each other's heads.

"You're empty." Vasir growled.

"So are you." said Xun.

Not believing her, Vasir pulled the trigger on her rifle. It simply clicked.

Xun quickly back flipped, kicking Vasir off her who also landed on her feet. Both opponents threw away their useless guns and simply glared at one another for a while. Xun clearly new where this was going and simply put her hands together. Despite the circumstances, she still respected Kung Fu traditions, even if Vasir didn't.

The very second she finished bowing; Vasir swung a kick at her. Xun however instantly parried it with her arm. Her posture straightened back up and she then lunged her own attack.

Vasir instantly brought her arm up to defend the strike and then quickly swung her other at Xun. Despite the Helldiver not knocking the punch however, it did little damage due to her metal exterior.

Both opponents exchanges strikes. Which ether one struck first, the other always seemed to block or parry.

Vasir attempted a kick at Xun, but the Helldiver blocked her knee and then delivered a swift punch to her chest plate, followed by a kick as well that sent her back against a pillar.

The Asari spectre narrowly avoided Xun's two punches as they both smashed through the stone. Vasir used this to her advantage and was able to kick Xun several times, forcing her back.

Xun however was able to regain her balance and she was able to dodge the next kick and was able to deliver her own. The sharp kick caught Vasir right in the jaw, forcing her back against her pillar, her nose bleeding and also a bit of blood tricking from her mouth.

The Asari Spectre simply wiped the blood off, but she glared angrily at Xun.

"I'm gonna enjoy watching you die… Miss Ren."

Vasir lunged again. This time, the Asari let her rage and anger fuel her strikes and she even threw her biotics into the mix which now made it much harder for Xun to block every blow.

A sudden blow from Vasir's arm caught Xun's leg which mad her lose her balance slightly. The Asari then used her biotics to add even more force to her right arm as she punched Xun hard in the chest, which sent her flying and caused her to smash into the wall hard.

Small parts of debris from the wall as Xun hit it hard and she landed on the floor. The Chinese Helldiver was quick to react though as Vasir made her way over to her. Using both her arms to swing herself up, Xun used both her legs to kick the Asari Spectre away before then swinging herself back up onto her feet.

Xun made another lunge at Vasir, but she grabbed the Helldivers wrist before a hit could be scored. Xun struggled before she was eventually able to shake her arm free of Vasir's grip. Using this to her advantage, the Helldiver followed this with several fast punches. As she swung for another one however, Vasir was able to block it with her wrist and then pin it under her arm.

Xun tried an attack worth he other arm, but Vasir did the same thing. With both arms pinned, Vasir activated her biotics and slammed a warp into Xun which sent her flying.

The blow had taken its toll that time. Xun felt her whole chest ache like hell and she even tasted a bit of blood in her mouth.

The Chinese Helldiver however refused to give in. She slowly got back up on her feet and took several deep breaths. She then reached for her belt and detached her metal before then going into a battle ready stance and beckoning Vasir over with her hand.

The Asari once again charged. This time though it was much trickier for her since she now had to avoid punches and the slices form the fan. Once touch got open up a wound since the fan was so sharp.

A sudden wrong move from Vasir allowed Xun to slash the Asari across the chest which caused to stagger back in pain, clutching her bleeding wound.

Seizing the opportunity, Xun slid under the Asari's legs swirled round, giving her a sharp kick which sent her flying back out the window.

She landed hard on the ground, the fall causing even more damage to her wounds, and she now had glass shards in her which made her bleed even more.

"Agh! Damn it!"

Xun walked up to Vasir and took the disk from her at last.

"I'll take that, thank you." she said. "Sekat's personal datapad. This has what we need to find the Shadow Broker."

"You're dead! The Shadow Broker has been in power for decades. He's stronger than anything you've faced!" said Vasir weakly, coughing on her own blood.

"That why you sold out the Council to work for him? Like a coward?!" Austin retorted.

"You think I betrayed the Council? Like Saren? Go to hell!" Vasir said weakly.

"You first." said Austin coldly.

Vasir was about to speak again, but the life left her before she could. He eyes went blank and her head fell to one side as she died.

"No one betrays a Helldiver and lives. Would've thought you were warned about that." said Austin pitifully.

* * *

" _Eliminate T'soni and Ren and retrieve the data. Civilian casualties not a concern."_

"That hùn zhàng!" said Xun angrily as the Shadow Broker's message to Vasir ended.

Liara, not understanding a word of Chinese was left confused by what Xun had just said,

"What?"

"Bastard." Xun translated.

"Oh."

"Vasir's dead." said Austin as he re-joined everyone.

"You made sure of that, I see." said Xun observantly, noticing the blue blood on Austin's sword.

"Still as observant as ever." Austin smiled as he sheathed the sword back on his back.

"Nothing observant about it. You're easy." said Xun, causing Austin to simply smile and shake his head.

"So what now?" he asked.

"I'm forwarding the data through to your ship. We can be at the Shadow Broker's base in a few hours." said Xun.

"He'll know about Vasir before long. If he decides to kill Feron…" said Liara nervously.

"We'll get Feron out of there, Liara. I promise." Austin interjected, trying to sound reassuring.

"I know. Sorry. It's just nerves." said Liara, trying to hide her expression from Austin.

" _Liara, don't shut me out. I'm here for you."_ she heard Austin say in her mind.

" _I know, and I'm sorry. I'm just can't bear the thought of Feron being killed. I thought he was dead, now he's alive…"_ Liara replied.

"We won't' give him time to even touch Feron." Said Xun confidently. "We'll need the Normandy's stealth system to get us in close undetected."

"What's the plan when we get there?" Austin asked.

"Get in, get Feron, and get out. I don't intend on us having to kill everyone, but if they insist on getting in our way, they'll force our hand." said Xun.

"That's it?"

"That's it.

"Sounds like a plan then."

* * *

Since they had a few hours now, Austin immediately felt that touring the new SR3 was in order. Being twice the size of the SR2, it was bound to not only have even more rooms than before, but also lots more stuff.

The cockpit and the CIC of course as Austin had noticed were mostly unchanged. EDI it seemed had got a massive new upgrade. She still retained her robotic avatar, but the whole ship was no equipped with an advanced holographic projection system which allowed EDI to project herself anywhere, and at human size. Now she could actually interact with the crew like she was really there. Joker in-particular had taken quite a liking to that new feature. Ever since he and EDI had saved the SR2 from the Collectors, they started to get along much better now. Joker even referred to EDI as "she" and "her" now rather than originally calling her "it"

The science lab, the debriefing and the armoury that used to be on the CIC deck had now been moved and were on a different floor, except the debriefing room which was still on the same floor, but simply been changed slightly. In their place, the Arkanes had built a war room. Austin had a first been confused on this move, but he had been told that like the SR1, the SR3 had once again being co-developed by the Turians. In fact, many other races had contributed to this new ship as well. The Asari, the Quarians, all those that were in the Helldivers had co-developed and contributed in their own small way to building this new ship.

The war room itself was a large holographic table which was capable of projecting any image of a battlefield, space fight, a ship, anything really. The entrance to both it and the debriefing room, which was just outside the war room, was also guarded by a weapons detector which in turn had two gate guards standing over it. Due to the face this war room would no doubt be used in the upcoming war with the Reapers, they could not allow spies to see and know their every move.

Another room joined to the War room was used for communication. The concept of the table in the debriefing room sliding into the floor had been abandoned and that was now all handled in this new room which was equipped with holographic projectors. This was mostly used of course for more than one person. If just one person was talking to them, the projectors that EDI used for her avatar could also be used for people contacting them. Austin would pretty much be able to talk with anyone in any part of the ship now. Plus, the holograms were so realistic now, and complete with colour, that it actually looked as though they were they in the room with them.

As mentioned before, the CIC had been completely unchanged apart from the galaxy map being slightly upgraded. Instead of Austin looking down on it like a map, it now actually surrounded him, like he was actually in space. It was a pretty nice feature. Despite being a Helldiver ship, the sr3 had obviously been designed to be as advanced, and also comfortable, as possible.

The crew deck had now been heavily redesigned. Now the crew had their own personal quarters each, which meant a lot of rooms. The quarters that been used by Miranda, both observation decks, and the med bay had been left as they were. The med bay of course had been refitted with even more advanced technology, and had a few extra beds, but it was still as everyone remembered. EDI's AI core had been deemed to be unsuitable to be attached to the medbay and had now been moved down to the engineering deck.

The forward battery had also been moved to the engineering deck. Its place on the crew deck had been filled by what everyone agreed was the SR3's most impressive feature.

From the outside of the SR3, the edges of the observations decks could be seen sticking out slightly. That was just part of the massive circle. That area was big enough in fact to house two levels. Level 1 of course had both observation decks which were joined to the main dining area, which was even larger than the last one, and it also contained a kitchen. The second level contained a full gymnasium for the crew and the Helldivers to use. (Saved them having to use the cargo hold like last time) The simulator from last had also been included. This time it had been properly integrated into the ship and it was now no longer taking up space in the cargo bay. The gym even had a large indoor swimming pool along with a few other activities for relaxing, small spa and a steam room were included.

The engineering deck had also been redesigned slightly. The drive core of course had remained were it was. No though, it wasn't the only one. From what Dell and Sill had told Austin, the SR3 was so big, so powerful, and equipped with so much advanced technology that it needed two drive cores. As a result of course, that meant that not only did the SR3 have more power, it could even fly faster than ever before.

There was a third drive core as well, but this was an emergency backup one only. Dell had also clearly stated that the SR3 was built and optimised to work perfectly with two cores. If the backup was left on, there was risk it could overload the systems. Just to be safe though, a safety system had been included that turned the backup core on when it detected one of the primary two was switched off, and also turned the backup off when both cores were active.

As stated before, the forward battery had been moved down to this level so the techs had easier access to it. Garrus also didn't mind since it at least meant he and Tali could chat with one another. The friendship between the two had really grown during all this. The science lab from deck 2 had been moved down to this level. It had also been made bigger than before since both Dell and Sill now occupied it and Dell had moved all his research inventions and workstation into here. Once again, it saved the cargo hold being unnecessarily crowded. Not to mention that the lab's window also had a very nice view of the cargo hold down below.

As for the cargo hold itself, it was certainly much bigger due to the SR3's massive size. As a result, they now had two dropships rather than one. The Hammerhead of course also occupied a spot. In fact, the cargo hold was so large that Dell even believed it was possible to fight a Helldiver gunship in there.

Overall, the Arkanes had really outdone themselves this team, with some help. Joker himself had even said that the Normandy had never been better and that the SR3 very nearly made the SR1 look like a tiny fighter.

Austin was currently stood alongside Joker on the bridge as they made their way towards the planet Hagalaz. It was a system far out in the outer rim. Certainly a pretty good place to hide since very little people ventured this far out, and was certainly not an easy place to find by accident. The Shadow Broker had chosen his base well.

"Approaching Hagalaz. Time to test the new stealth system. Don't see though how Dell thinks he's topped it. People will still see us if we get close enough for a visual. Especially how this thing is now nearly as big as a heavy cruiser." said Joker.

Because of the new advanced tech the cockpit had, Joker now had to wear a visor over his eyes. It didn't look silly of course. Joker even thought it looked quite cool.

"You might be surprised, Joker. Let's vanish." said Austin.

"Engaging stealth system."

From out the windows, Joker could see some of the SR3'S hull. TO his surprise, as the emotions were hidden, the Normandy itself seemed to vanish with them.

The pilot simply sighed. Once again, he'd been proven wrong.

"Hmm, so now we can hide from even windows." he said.

 _"That ship cloak's the first of its kind. Just the prototype and it already seems to be working well."_ said EDI.

It felt weird for Austin to actually see EDI like she was right there. Her hologram was sat in the co-pilot's chair next to Joker.

 _"Xun and Liara have been notified, Shepard. They await you in the cargo bay."_ she said.

* * *

"Hagalaz. The oceans boil during the day, then snap-freeze ten minutes after sundown." said Xun.

Since the doors had to be closed, they couldn't' see anything outside, but they had a visual of outside. The massive storm outside was instantly visible. Amongst it, was a massive ship that was actually flying, safely and without any sign of turbulence through the storm itself.

"The Shadow Broker lives in this?" Kasumi asked.

Since the Thief was old friends with Xun, Austin had decided to bring her alongside Xun and Liara.

"His ship follows the sunset. Completely undetectable in the storm, unless you know where to look." said Xun.

"How do we get inside?" Liara asked.

"The shuttle bay is locked down. We'll need to land on the ship and hunt for a hatch." said Xun. "But we can't stay outside for long. There's a constant lightning storm where the hot and cold air collide."

The dropships door slid open, and everyone hopped onto the hull and began their long walk along the ship. It was like having the walk along the hull of the SR2 since the broker's ship was so large. The SR3 of course was way bigger, but still...

* * *

Surprisingly, they weren't met with any resistance as they walked along the ship. Apart from some maintenance drones that seemed to mistake them for debris form the storm, they didn't encounter any mercs. It was the same when they go inside as well. Either the Broker didn't yet know they were here, or he had something planned for them that they had yet to encounter.

The next door opened. The room looked like some sort of interrogation room. Sure enough, Liara quickly found who they'd come for.

"Feron!"

The Drell was strapped into some kind of chair surrounded by holo displays.

"Liara?"

"Hold on! We're getting you out of here!" said Liara as she ran over to the console.

"No!" said Feron urgently. But it was too late.

Feron screamed as he was shocked by a large amount of electricity.

"Feron!"

"What the hell is the Broker trying to do to you?" Austin asked.

"The equipment is sensitive to tampering. This chair plugs into the Broker's info network. You have to shut off the power. Pull me out now, and my brain cooks." Said Feron.

"Do you know where we can cut the power?" Xun asked.

"It won't be easy. You'll have to go to central operations." Said Feron.

"We're all getting out of here! Can you tell us where to go?" Austin asked.

"Central operations is down the hall. You know the Shadow Broker's waiting for you, right?"

"I'm counting on it." Said Austin.

"We'll be back for you, Feron!" said Liara.

"I'll try not to go anywhere."

" _I want all teams to outpost C."_ said the Shadow Broker over the speakers.

Xun suddenly felt something poke against the back of her head. Before she could react, a Shadow Broker merc suddenly uncloaked right behind her.

"Drop your weapons or I'll blow her head off!" the merc yelled before anyone else could do anything.

For a moment, it looked as though they were about to be taken prisoner. But then Xun said something in Chinese.

"Nǐ bù jìn shàng wǒ de chuānzhuó." She said.

The merc was left confused by this and his rifle lowered ever so slightly.

"What?"

"You're stepping on my dress." Xun translated.

" _Uh-oh."_ Austin thought.

Before the merc could reply at all, Xun suddenly brought the back of her fist straight into his face which caused him to stagger backwards and step off Xun's battle dress. Now free of the risk of accidently tripping, Xun slid under the merc. As he turned round, the Chinese Helldiver threw two tiny little device from her belt and threw them at the merc's legs.

Each device went either side of one leg and shocked them both, causing him to fall.

More mercs flooded into the corridor. Xun moved so fast however that they barely had time to draw their weapons.

Faster than Austin, Xun and Liara had ever seen anyone move, Xun practically took down the whole of the Shadow Broker's private army with just her kung Fu skills and one use of her rope dart.

"Wow. Never seen that before." Said Kasumi, her mouth still hanging open.

"Important advice. Never step on Xun's battle-dress." Liara smirked.

They continued on through the base until they finally reached the door to where the Shadow Broker was.

The door opened.

They found themselves inside a massive room. Stood before them, was a desk behind which, sat the Shadow Broker himself.

Austin had had no idea what to expect, and even now he still had no idea what the Shadow Broker was. Although he was sat in the shadows, his figure could be easily seen. He was massive, bigger even than a Krogan. Little could be seen of his head, but what was visible were what looked like horns. Whatever the Broker was, it was unlike any race Austin had ever seen before.

The Broker deactivated the many holo interfaces in front of them so that the group had his full attention.

"Here for the Drell? Reckless, even for you, Major." he said.

Even without the communications, which obviously did change his voice a little, the Shadow Broker still sounded menacing.

"Speak for yourself. That bombing on Illium wasn't exactly subtle." said Austin.

"Extreme, but necessary." said the Broker.

"No it wasn't! Neither was caging Feron for two years!" Liara retorted.

"Professor T'soni. Your interference caused all this. Feron betrayed me when he handed you Shepard's body. The Drell is simply paying the price." said the Broker, calmly.

Despite the circumstances, the broker seemed completely calm. He didn't even seem to care that all his mercs were dead and he was one against 4, even if he did match all of them in size.

"Someone was bound to come after you for working with the Collectors." said Austin.

"It was a mutually beneficial partnership. Fortunately, the Normandy's IFF will let me salvage the remains of the Collector's base." said the Broker.

"Be smart. Let Feron walk out with us." said Austin.

"You won't be walking out at all." said the Broker. Although his mouth could not be seen, Austin guessed that the Broker was smiling evilly.

"You're quite confident for someone with nowhere left to hide." Said Xun.

"You travel with fascinating companions, Zhi Shang Ren. I'm obliged you brought along Ms Goto. Even blank grayboxs are worth several fortunes." said the Broker.

"You're not putting a hand on anyone!" Liara objected defensively.

"It's pointless to challenge me, Asari. I know you're every secret, while you fumble in the dark." said the Broker calmly.

"Is that right?" said Liara. "You're a Yahg, a pre-spaceflight species quarantined to their homeworld for massacring the Council's first contact teams. This base is older than your planet's discovery, which probably means you killed the original Shadow Broker sixty years ago, then took over."

"I'm guessing you were taken from your world by a trophy hunter who wanted a slave… or a pet. How am I doing?" said Xun.

For some reason, that seemed to get to the Broker, and he stood up from his desk. Everyone looked in astonishment as the Broker drew himself up to his full height of over 4 metres and his body left the Shadows.

"Ō, wǒ de shàngdì" Xun gasped.

In all his life, Austin had never seen anything like this. He would have to ask Liara about these so called "Yahg" and why he had never heard of them.

Most of the Broker's body was dressed in a dark blue suit, but what was visible of his skin was dark red. His head had even more eyes than a Batarian and his mouth took an odd triangular shape which was somewhat unnerving.

As the Broker stood up, he suddenly smashed his desk with his fist and hurled one of the pieces at them. Austin was narrowly able to jump out of the way, pushing Liara with him. Xun was able to leap over the wreckage. Only Kasumi didn't react in time, and the piece of desk knocked her out.

Everyone drew their guns as the Shadow Broker roared at them before then drawing his own M-76 Revenant.

"His is bigger than yours." Xun joked.

"Not now, Xun!" Austin groaned as they all went into cover to avoid incoming fire. All they had to do was wait until the gunfire ceased and the Broker had to reload. Austin himself knew that while the Revenant was unbelievably powerful, it did take longer to reload than other assault rifles. He was able to do it quicker thanks to Dell making a few modifications. The Broker's on the other hand was untampered and so Austin was counting on the slow reload affecting the Yahg.

Sur enough, the firing soon stopped and the Broker quickly started fumbling with his belt and working as fast as he could to get another thermal clip inside.

"Cursed weapon! Always out of ammo!" he cursed.

Everyone immediately popped out of cover and emptied their round into the Broker. The bullets hit their target, but to their surprise, the Broker did not go down. The Yahg grunted and groaned as the rounds became embedded in his flesh, but this seemed to cause him very little pain.

Knowing though that he was vulnerable, the Broker suddenly threw up a sliver shield over himself. Liara fired several more shots directly as his face, but this time they simply bounced off like rounds often did on Helldiver armour.

"The shield's kinetically sensitive. Energy and projectiles are bouncing off." said the Asari.

"Then we do this the old fashioned way." said Austin, drawing his sword. Xun and Liara were quick to do the same.

Austin ran up to the Shadow Broker and punched him hard in the face which caused to the shield to deactivate. Using the butt of his large rifle, the Broker swung at the three Helldivers to try and block any opening they might have. Xun however was able to run under one of the Broker's attacks and was able to make a cut in his leg. This however seemed to only anger the Broker and he swung at his main information rival. Xun was once again though able to dodge the attack and she leapt onto the Broker's back. Seizing the chance, she sank her sword into the Broker's back.

The Yahg roared in anger and grabbed Xun, pulling her Katana out in the process. Not taking the chance of Xun cutting his arm, the Broker threw the Helldiver off him and turned his attention back to Austin and Liara.

Attacking at the same time, the couple both ran at the Broker and jumped at his head. The Yahg however quickly brought up his left arm and brought up an omni shield which he used to smack both Austin and Liara away.

"You're big... but I've still fought bigger." Austin panted as he and the other two slowly got back up.

The Broker raised his shield as well, ready for another round.

Austin charged and his sword clashed with the Broker's shield. Both opponents pushed against each other as one tried to overpower the other.

Liara soon followed with her biotic ready, but the Shadow Broker then suddenly gave a huge push which flung Austin into her and disrupted her attack.

It was then that Liara noticed the massive tank of silver corrosive fluid on the ceiling above the Broker. A thought suddenly hit her.

"If you can get him to bring up that shield again, I've got an idea." she said.

Reading his future wife's mind, Austin quickly caught on.

With his Revenant finally reloaded, the Broker resumed fire, this time with his shield raised in front to protect himself.

It was now much harder to hit the Broker, even when he stopped firing to reload.

Using a new tactic, Xun and Liara occupied the Broker's attention while Austin snuck up behind him. Quickly feeling the bullets imbedding themselves in his back, the Broker once again threw up his shield. Once again though, Austin ran up and punched the Shadow Broker hard. The Yahg roared and charged Austin just as the Helldiver rolled out of the way.

"L-"

But before he could finish, the Shadow Broker suddenly swiped him with the shield. The Yahg had obviously counted on that happening again and had learned from his last mistake.

He then whirled around and fired at the pillar which Liara had been standing next to. It toppled before Liara could try anything and it fell on Xun's leg, pinning her.

Confident that he'd finally achieved victory, the Broker slowly made his way over to the downed Chinese Helldiver.

"You thought you could defeat me?!" he gloated "What are you gonna do now, Miss Ren?!"

" _Dà cuò."_ Xun thought smugly.

The Broker had lent in to gloat, and he'd gotten too close to Xun. Anyone who knew Xun well knew that if they got to close to the Chinese Helldiver, they were within the danger zone and therefore risked and injury.

With an almost lightning fast reaction, Xun took out her metal fan and sliced one of the Shadow Broker's eyes, temporarily blinding him as he screamed in agony.

As the Yahg suddenly turned round, he found Austin had also got up and he had Excalibur drawn. Before the Broker could react in time, Austin slashed his stomach wide open, which elected another scream of pain.

The Broker fell to his knees clutching he open wound in his stomach as it leaked blood. He knew now he'd lost.

"That'll do it." He sighed as he looked into the red glowing eye visor of the Helldiver he'd tried to sell to the Collectors 2 years ago.

"Liara, now!" Austin yelled.

The Shadow Broker looked in the direction Austin had yelled to see Liara, with her biotics fully charged. The Yahg looked dup as the glass on the tank started to crack. Liara then pulled hard and the glass shattered.

The corrosive liquid fell onto the Broker which caused his barriers to overload and explode, killing him in the process. The force of the explosion sent Austin, Liara, and Xun flying. The pillar that had been pinning Xun's leg was also flung off by the explosion.

Austin landed on his back whereas Liara landed on top of him. With the danger over, they simply smiled at one another.

" _Finally, I end up on top."_ Said Liara smugly through their bond.

" _Gravity on this ship must be off."_ Austin replied jokingly.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Xun asked, smiling and with her arms crossed as she stood over them. "Come on. Get up."

As everyone got up, Kasumi also seemed to finally regain consciousness. While Xun checked on her old friend, Liara noticed the hundreds of contacts that were attempting to re-establish communication with the Shadow Broker. For a moment, her head sunk, then it came back up and her eyes opened. She knew what she had to do. She knew it was either this or lose everyone. Liara was about to step up to the console, when an arm suddenly stopped her.

Xun instead stepped up to the console and pressed a few buttons on her omni tool. There was a small hiss as the locks on her helmet disengaged. Steam shot out of several valves and the helmet retracted, revealing Xun's face for the first time in a while. No one could see her at the moment though since she had her back to everyone. What could be seen though was her jet back hair which was neatly organised in a chopstick hairstyle.

The Chinese Helldiver then brought up a holo panel and began speaking. As she did, her voice echoed throughout the ship, only it sounded like the Shadow Broker rather than her. She was using a voice changer. Clever.

"This is the Shadow Broker. We experienced a power fluctuation while upgrading hardware. It disrupted communication momentarily." She said.

Feron then suddenly burst into the room, his gun pointing at Xun. When he saw that it wasn't the Shadow Broker however, he froze, almost in shock.

"However, we are now back online. Resume standard procedures. I want a status report on all operations within the next solar day. Shadow Broker out." said Xun.

All of the Broker's contacts fell silent.

"Goddess of oceans… it's you. You… how?" said Feron, trying to find words.

"Everyone who's ever seen him in person is dead. Well, everyone except you four." Said Xun, finally turning and allowing everyone to see her face.

Xun had the traditional look that any Chinese woman would have. Despite what many though, Xun was actually younger than they believed. Many thought she was somewhere in her late 40's. In truth however, she was only a few years older than Austin and she looked even younger than that. If people didn't know better, some might say she was still in her late 20's.

Xun of course wore no makeup. She had a tattoo of a Chinese Dragon, but that was only visible on her back. If one looked closely enough, they could see a small bit of it on her neck, but it was hard to spot.

"…You're the new Shadow Broker." Said Feron.

"You sure about this, Xun? It's one thing to take down the Shadow Broker, but it's another to take his place." said Austin with concern.

"It's either this, or lose everything. My information network is the second largest in the galaxy. Now with this, we, the Arkanes, the Helldivers and our allies will know more than we've ever known before. This may even give us a huge advantage in the coming war." Said Xun, her dark brown eyes glowing from the brightness of the tank which still had a bit of liquid in it.

"She… she's right. With the Shadow Broker's information network, she can give us… she can…" said Liara, trying her best to find her voice, but there was no denying how it was cracking and she sounded on the point of tears.

"We'll, uh, check the power systems." Said Feron, quickly getting the message and leaving with Kasumi.

Xun also simply nodded to Austin and disappeared as she activated her cloak to give him and Liara some space.

Liara briefly turned her back on Austin to hide her crying, but he touched her shoulder and forced her to face him.

"It's over. It's finally… for two years…" said Liara.

Austin put his arms around his future wife and hugged her close to him. Both their helmets retracted.

"It's all right, my love. It's all right." He said gently.

"I just… I don't' know what to…" Liara stuttered.

"Come 'ere." Austin interrupted.

Love overtook the both of them and they kissed. After a very long and passionate one, they finally parted. Liara seemed to brighten up a bit after that and managed to regain her composure.

"Okay… okay…" she said, still struggling a bit to find something to say.

"Okay." Austin finished for her.

" _Goddess, I love you so much, Austin. I'm never going to get tired of saying that."_ He heard Liara say in his head.

" _Nor am I, Liara. I love you too, more than anything."_ He replied telepathically.

" _I spent two years mourning you and Feron. And now I've got you both back."_ Said Liara, resting her head into Austin's shoulder as he once again hugged her close.

" _You deserve it after all you've been through, Liara."_ Said Austin, stroking Liara's crest gently.

"Thank you, Austin." Said the Asari, a tear of happiness trickling down her cheek before Austin wiped it off.

Xun then finally uncloaked, sensing that the couple were fine now.

"I can't believe I forget you were there." Said Liara.

"You needed a moment. I would've said "don't mind me", but…" Xun smiled.

"Xun, thank you." Said Liara.

"Huānyíng nǐ, wǒ de péngyǒu." Said Xun, bowing her head slightly. "Now, let's see what we've got."

Xun made her way over to the console and started examining the Shadow Broker's data further.

"Liǎobuqǐ. No safeguards or user restrictions. It's like the Shadow Broker never anticipated anyone but himself being here. And it's all ours." She smiled.

"You sure you want to stay here? You're more than welcome on the Normandy." Austin asked.

"Trust me, Shepard. I'd like nothing more, but I have to stay here. It's where all this is, all the information." Said Xun.

"What kind of information are we talking about?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'll need to go through his files. Come back later, and I'll try to have something useful by then."

"All I wanted us to do was rescue Feron. But… is it wrong that this seems like a wise thing to do?" Liara asked.

"Not at all, Liara. With the Shadow Broker's network, I can help your fiancée. Maybe even turn this whole operation into something better." Said Xun.

"Just be careful you don't let this change you." Said Austin.

"Small chance of that." Xun smiled.

Both Austin and Liara bowed their heads to Xun and left to head back to the Normandy. They planned to return sometime tomorrow after they'd recovered from what they'd just endured.

"Xièxiè, wǒ de péngyǒus." Xun smiled.

* * *

Assembling her helmet back up, the Chinese Helldiver turned back to her new information network and began looking through the massive amount of data it had.

Sure enough, Austin and Liara returned the next day to visit. Almost immediately they found that Xun had wasted no time and getting a new crew to run the ship. Obviously, she couldn't trust any of the mercs and so had sought to it that several Helldiver crew were assigned to help run the ship. Each one of them had also signed an official secret act to keep Xun's identity as the Broker a secret.

Already, the crew seemed to be hard at work on construction. It looked like Xun's was having the ship refitted. As Austin and Liara neared the door, Xun's face appeared on the screen above.

"Shepard! Liara! It's good to see you again." she smiled. "I've set up a few terminals with information I think you'll find interesting. Take a look."

The doors opened and a large white drone suddenly hovered out.

"Welcome back, Shadow Broker!" it said.

"What's this?" Austin asked.

"That's the old Broker's VI assistant. It's actually been helpful with rebuilding the network." Xun replied.

"Please let me know if I can organize anything else for you, Shadow Broker." said the VI.

"It also thinks anyone in the room is the Broker. I'll play around with the settings later."

"My manual is ready whenever you have a moment!"

As they walked in, they could see some more Helldivers focusing on moving several supply crates, repairing the tank and also making space for no doubt some new furniture or something along those lines. Austin then spotted a very familiar face directing many of the workers while Xun was still at the console.

"Good. Now put that one over there. That's where she'll want to put the statues." said a purple Asari.

"Oranna!"

"Shepard! So good to see you. It's been too long." smiled Oranna Traas as she hugged Austin.

"Nice to finally see you again too. Must be nice to be back at Xun's side." said Austin.

"Indeed. Especially when I heard about how Nyxeris was the Observer. I recommended that Asari myself. I thought she was my friend." said the Asari, almost with regret.

"Don't beat yourself up, Oranna. It's not your fault. Besides, Xun might not have found out about her if she hadn't been posted." said Austin supportingly.

"True. Anyway, what's done is done. What matters is that I'm here now." Oranna smiled.

"What's with all the Helldivers here?"

"The ship feels a bit gloomy and lonely, so we're having it refurbished. Plus, it'll be pretty hard to run a base this size with no crew."

"No argument there."

"No! No! This one goes here, that one goes there!" Oranna instructed to some of the soldiers that were moving the crates. "Sorry about that. Xun mad it my job to supervise the refurbishment. Need everything to be right for my mistress."

"Three years, and you still call her that?" Austin asked. "You aren't a servant, Oranna."

"I know, and so does Xun. But she doesn't mind, and I still owe her my life from rescuing me from those pirates. I wouldn't be here without her."

Oranna had first come to be Xun's assistant when the information broker had rescued her from some pirates during a raid. The Asari had been eternally grateful. Since Oranna was still awfully young (even today she still only a few years older than Liara) and had been struggling to find some decent employment, Xun had taken her in as a temporary apprentice and had taught her to become her assistant. Since then, Oranna had remained by Xun's side ever since. Some of Xun's reputation even partly belonged to Oranna since she had made several things in the past possible. Things that Xun would not have been able to easily do by herself.

"No! Over there! Look where I'm pointing!" Oranna shouted at another Helldiver.

"Liara and I should probably leave you to it. You seem busy enough as it is." said Austin.

"Always a pleasure, Shepard." Oraana smiled.

Liara found Feron up the stairs in the next room. While she took some time to catch up with her friend, Austin explored a bit.

"What's this?" he asked as he found a strange looking panel connected to what looked like projectors.

"This is the video surveillance access point. I've queued up the archive footage you requested on your last visit, Shadow Broker." replied the VI.

Austin figured it couldn't hurt and scrolled through several different videos. Some of the ones included were Aria, Captain Bailey, Emily Wong, and even some of the Normandy crew. It was nice to see that they were getting along well after leaving the Normandy. It would be nice to see them again at the wedding. Just as Austin finished looking, he spied one more clip. The VI identified it as the Eternity bartender, Matriarch Aethyta. She appeared to be looking at a picture of an Asari. Something about that picture caught Austin's attention. The Asari looked very familiar.

Using the zoom and enhance version, Austin could soon make out the face of the Asari. For a moment though, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

_"Wait. Is that…? Liara?!"_

Austin found it strange why Aethyta was looking at a picture of his future wife. As far as he knew, the two hadn't even met before. For now, he felt it best to deal with it later. He knew Liara was safe with him, so he didn't have to worry about her safety. After Liara had finished talking with Feron, they both headed back into the main chamber to talk with Xun.

"How are you doing, Xun?" Liara asked.

"I'm a bit overwhelmed, to be honest. The Shadow Broker had more resources than you can imagine. Here, come on over." said Xun. "He had top level access to the Turian and Asari governments, rather worryingly. And more than one Salarian dalatrass traded Intel. At least I get to share it with you."

"You're not going to turn into a recluse with creepy information on everyone in the galaxy, are you?" Austin asked jokingly.

"I can understand the temptation. I've got all the secrets of the galaxy at my fingertips. Give me ten minutes, and I could start a war." Xun chuckled. "But I've got a purpose: helping you stop the Reapers. That will keep me honest. You know, relatively speaking."

"Is it too much? If you're in over your head, we could just crash this thing and walk away." said Austin.

"That's just it. In a way, it feels like I belong here. Working on my own, I was always hunting for leads. With the Shadow Broker's resources, it's about organizing, cataloguing. My job is now practically a dream job… although, the location could be better." said Xun.

"Have you found anything useful yet?" Liara asked.

"The Shadow Broker knew about the Reapers. Perhaps that's why he offered to prove Saren's guilt to the Council." said Xun.

"He didn't want Saren to succeed." said Austin.

"He also knew that the Collectors were Protheans repurposed to be Harbinger's puppets. There's even some data on the Protheans, which of course I've given to you, Liara." Xun continued. "I think he knew what was coming and was looking for a way to survive."

"By the way, Liara. I've been meaning to ask. How'd you know what the Shadow Broker was?" Austin asked.

"I didn't. I had no idea what to expect when we finally found him. But I researched pre-spaceflight cultures during some of my Prothean studies before I met you. I know a bit about the Yahg. They're a fascinating culture… and a terrifying one." Liara replied.

The Asari then turned to Xun. She had a question about the Prothean data the Broker had been keeping.

"Why was he still looking at Protheans? They gave us the warning and the Conduit at Ilos, but we've used those." she asked.

"The Shadow Broker seemed to think there was more out there. Perhaps the Protheans had other plans. Or maybe he was just grasping at anything that offered some hope." said Xun, shrugging slightly.

"You know, we didn't come down here just to talk about data, Xun." said Austin, changing the subject.

"I agree. It would be nice to have a more social chat. I can't leave for too long, but spending all my time on this ship..." said Xun.

"Why don't you come to the Normandy for drinks?" Liara suggested.

"Of course. I'd like that." Xun smiled.

"Good. Get your things and come on up." said Austin.

"Okay. I'll be right there."

* * *

Both Austin and Liara had sought to it that their quarters were tidy for when Xun came up. Currently, the information broker was being given a tour of the new Normandy.

The quarters were also a part of the Normandy that hadn't been changed much. Although, the sky window which offered a view of space had been made larger and they also mood and environment settings. For example, the room could simulate them waking up to a tropical sunrise or something along those lines.

As Austin finished pouring the drinks, Xun walked in.

She'd removed her armour and now wore a red Chinese dress. It was usually her favourite one to wear when she was off duty.

"Did you enjoy the tour?" Austin asked.

"Yes. It's a magnificent ship. The Arkanes have really outdone themselves this time." Xun smiled. "I also spoke with the rest of Alpha Squad. I'm glad they're doing well, and it was nice to meet some of the newer faces."

The Chinese Helldiver then took a small plack of some kind from out of her dress and presented it to Austin.

"Here. I brought you something. Took some digging, but Liara recovered your Alliance tags. She gave them to me for safekeeping." she said.

Austin took the tags and looked at them.

"Technically, these aren't mine anymore. It not officially in the Alliance anymore. But thank you. I appreciate you giving them to Me." he said, trying to sound grateful. He did at least appreciate that the effort had been made to get them back to him, even if he didn't need or want them anymore.

"You can't get back everything you lose, but sometimes you get lucky." said Liara.

"Yep. That was the plan." Austin smiled as he put his arm around Liara and hugged her close. The Asari happily rested her head against his shoulder. Xun simply smiled at the happy couple.

"How are you actually doing, Shepard? I mean, really. Not what you tell everyone else to keep morale up." Xun asked, this time her face changing to concern.

"I'm always honest with everyone, Xun. You know that. I'm fine, really. But... between you two and me, I do worry a bit. I worry about the coming war; how we're gonna do this. I'm doing all I can, but..." said Austin.

"Give yourself some credit, Shepard. You've done more than most. You and your team destroyed the Collectors and walked out alive." said Xun positively.

"You got that right. We fought them in their own base, and we won. They can't call us young or primitive anymore." said Austin, his mood brightening back up again.

"Young? You know I'm 109. 110 in a couple of months." said Liara.

"I should get you something nice." said Austin.

"You're alive again and we're getting married. I've got everything I want." Liara sighed happily as she practically snuggled against Austin.

"Forgive me for being curious, but is it possible it'll go beyond this? Can we maybe one day expect more than marriage in the future?" Xun asked.

"I believe Austin did say marriage, old age, and a lot of little blue children. I'm still holding him to that by the way." Liara chuckled slightly.

"Aw. That's sweet. I think you two would make great parents." said Xun.

Both Austin and Liara looked at each other with surprise.

"We would?"

"I know you will, and I have faith that we'll win this war. You'll win a future for those children." said Xun supportingly.

"Thanks, Xun. That's worth drinking to, I think." said Austin.

The Helldiver handed two of the glasses to Liar and Xun and took the third in his hand and raised the glass.

"To our future."

"Our future!" Xun and Liara repeated.

The three of them drank.

"I should get back to my ship. Thank you both for inviting me up. I've never had truer friends." Xun smiled, putting her glass down.

The information broker first hugged Austin before then hugging Liara.

"You've made me proud... my apprentice." she said.

Just before Xun got into the elevator, she quickly stopped and turned around.

"Before I go, may I ask to have some help in moving the stuff from apartment to my ship?" she asked.

"You don't even have to ask, friend." Austin smiled.

"Thank you both for the drinks. I wish the two of you eternal happiness." said Xun.

"Think we already got that covered." Liara smiled.

"Come back soon, Xun."

The doors closed and the elevator disappeared from view, leaving Austin and Liara alone.

 _"Did she just call you her apprentice? I thought you were Zartrack's student."_ Austin asked telepathically.

 _"He only taught me how to sword fight. Xun was my actual teacher."_ Liara replied.

 _"Surprising. Xun's never taken a student before."_ said Austin.

 _"She said she saw something different in me. Something that reminded her of you. Think you can guess why."_ Liara smiled.

* * *

Austin had opted to go to Illium ahead of schedule before Xun arrived to start packing up all the stuff in her apartment and moving it onto the ship. There was something he needed to sort out with a Matriarch.

Sure enough, as the Helldiver entered Eternity, Aethyta was in her usual place behind the bar.

"Well well, haven't seen you in a while, babe. Shepard, right?" she said.

Austin nodded.

"What can I get you then? Sorry, no sex. Just cleaned the bar." said Aethyta.

"How did you end up with a job like this?" Austin asked.

"Thought I told you already." Aethyta replied.

"I'm not so sure it was the truth though. I've seen some video footage, of you looking at Liara. Care to explain that?" Austin asked.

Aethyta didn't even seem to look like she was nervous. Nor did she even try to make up any excuse. She didn't even do what Austin had expected, which was for her to ask who Liara was.

"I guess one of you was eventually going to find out. Well, Matriarch Benezia was her mother and I... I was the father." she said.

Austin was completely shocked by that. Of all the answers he had thought Aethyta would say, he had not expected that. He was actually surprised with himself for not considering that the Matriarch could have been Liara's father. It made sense after all since Liara had told Austin that both her parents were Asari, that she was what other Asari cruelly called a pureblood.

"Father?! I thought you... You were her other mother?!" he asked.

"No! I didn't pop her out!" Aethyta replied, rolling her eyes slightly.

"Sorry. If you were human, you'd both be called the mother." Austin apologised.

"Well, I'm not human am I?" Aethyta replied.

"Liara would love to meet you." said Austin.

"Why? We've never seen each other before and she doesn't even know me from a hole in the ground. She's friends with one of the biggest Intel brokers in the galaxy, and she's got some shady connections. Like a boyfriend who used to work for Cerber..."

But before Aethyta could finish, Austin immediately interrupted her as soon as he heard her start to mention Cerberus. He'd said it before, and he would say it again.

"That bit's not true! Any rumours you might have heard about me working for Cerberus are false." he said defiantly.

"I know. You certainly proved that. Besides, if they were true, you wouldn't get within a light-year of Liara." said Aethyta.

"Is that a threat?" Austin asked, his eyebrow slightly raised and his arms crossed.

"I'm no commando, but I've had a thousand years to learn to fight dirty. Nobody messes with my girl." said Aethyta. "Anyway, you combine her work with Benezia's and the matriarch's might have ordered a hit."

"That's not gonna happen!" said Austin defensively.

"No argument here! At least I know she's staying safe in your care." Aethyta quickly added.

"Just as long as we're clear. Nobody messes with **my** girl. Actually, change that. Nobody messes with my future wife." said Austin.

"Ha! You're good enough for her after all." Aethyta laughed.

"I really think you and Liara should at least talk. You should come clean with her. It'd be better for everyone." said Austin.

"Yeah. We'll see where that goes." Aethyta sighed.

Austin left the bar for a minute and activated his omni tool to contact Liara. The Asari was quick to arrive in a few minutes and they both sat down at a nearby table.

Although it couldn't' clearly be seen, Austin could tell that Aethyta was watching from behind the bar.

"Liara, you know that bartender?" he asked.

"The Matriarch hired by the Asari government to keep an eye on me?" Liara replied.

"She... she's your father." said Austin.

"I know." Liara simply said.

"You know?" Austin asked. But his question was quickly answered when he remembered that Liara was friends with Xun as well. So of course Xun would tell her or at least Liara would figure it out herself. "I don't think I'll ever get to surprise you with anything now days."

"Xun's a very good information Broker." said Liara.

"And you haven't talked to her about spying on you?" Austin asked.

"If I did that, they'd probably send someone who wasn't as sympathetic to me." Said Liara. "Besides, I don't know if it would be what you would call a family reunion."

"Liara..." said Austin.

"Oh fine!" the Asari sighed.

Just as she got up however, she stopped. Using their link, Austin could tell what the problem was.

 _"You're nervous, aren't you?"_ he asked.

 _"Admittedly, yes."_ Liara replied. "Would _you mind...?"_

 _"Coming with you? Sure. I could do with a drink anyway."_ Austin replied reassuringly.

Austin held his love's hand as they walked slowly up to the bar.

There was an awkward silence before Liara finally spoke first.

"Hello… father." She said.

"Hey, kid. Guess Shepard got you to talk with me." Said Aethyta calmly.

"My bond mate is very persuasive." Said Liara as both she and Austin sat down.

"So I've heard." Said Aethyta as she poured Austin a drink. "You know, you might not think it's true, but you do look quite a lot like your mother, just… younger."

"I'm her daughter. It's to be expected." Said Liara. "Why are you watching me?"

"Come on, you can't blame the Matriarchs for keeping an eye on you." Aethyta replied.

"I am not what my mother became." Liara objected.

"Well, you did threaten to flay someone alive with your mind." Said Aethyta.

"Did you?" Austin asked in surprised. Liara then sent a quick image into his head and then he understood. "Ah."

"I had to make Miranda take me seriously. I wasn't actually going to do it." Said Liara.

"Wait a minute. How do you even know about that? She was on the Normandy when she said that." Austin asked.

"Thought you Helldivers were smart." Said Aethyta.

"You put bugs in the Normandy, didn't you?" said Liara.

"That'd be the logical conclusion, yeah. Although I hadn't realised at the time that you were sleeping with Shepard in his quarters. Thought you were sleeping in the quarters that Lawson eventually got." Aethyta nodded. "I changed them shortly after I found out."

"I see." Said Liara hesitantly.

"I didn't spy on you two having sex. I'm not that kind of father." Aethyta objected, seeing what Liara had been thinking.

"True, although I saw a video clip were you head-butted a drunk Krogan who insulted you." Said Austin.

"He was like that before he got drunk. He had it coming." Said Aethyta. "So, yeah, my dad was a Krogan."

"Yes, I'm aware of that." Said Liara.

"So that makes you a quarter Krogan."

"That's… not how it works."

"I'm a thousand years old. I've had kids with Hanar. Don't tell me how Asari reproduction works."

"Wait… I have a half-sister who's part Hanar?"

"I thought that wasn't how it worked?" Aethyta smiled. "All I'm saying is that if you feel the urge to head butt something, it's genetic."

"I have never wanted to head butt anything."

"Really? Not even a little bit? Come on."

"Well, you did head-butt a Collector Captain…" Austin sniggered.

"We were in a fight. That's different. I do not head butt people!" Liara objected.

"All right, fine, don't go all blood rage on me."

"Or what? You'll tell the other Matriarchs to order a hit?"

"Like hell she will." Said Austin defensively.

"Hey! Both of you calm down. That's not gonna happen. I may never have met you before, but you're still my daughter, and Benezia's."

"What was it like, with her I mean?" Liara asked.

"Nezzy and I were together for more than a century."

"You loved her?"

"Course I loved her. She was so smart. Always thinking. Nice, too. Hell of a lot nicer than I am. And damn, that rack. I mean, even before she hit the Matriarch stage…" said Aethyta. "Something I can already tell she passed on to you."

"That's none of your business." Said Liara, folding her arms so as to stop Aethyta staring at her breasts.

"Shepard?" Aethyta asked.

"No comment." Austin replied.

"I'll take that as a yes." Aethyta smiled naughtily.

"Considering I'm descended from you, I'm surprised I never act like that."

"Actually you sometimes do. Not all the time, but occasionally."

"Oh, yes." Said Liara, slightly agreeing. "It does make me wonder though, how did you and mother meet?"

"Nezzy was the only one who ever listened to me when I said the Asari were stuck in the past. Only difference was, I wanted us to stand on our own. She wanted alliances with the other races."

"That sounds like how I used to know her." Said Liara, smiling slightly. "But, is that why…"

"Why it ended? Nah. Well, maybe. I don't know. Mostly it ended because she wanted to solve things the smart way. I wanted to fight."

"Those aren't mutually exclusive."

"Yeah. I hear you and your fiancée have racked up quite a body count. But then, you are quarter Krogan."

"Now you're doing it on purpose."

"Anyway, it was pretty clear she was leaving. Can't be the wise councillor when you're married."

"Why not?"

"Sex appeal. Most species only pay attention when they want to have sex with you. So you have be available, mysterious…"

"What? That's not true! Austin listens to me!"

"And how many times have you thrown him down on the bed, peeled him out of his uniform and popped his heat sink?"

"Once again, that's none of your business. Besides, do you have to make it sound so… "Tawdry?"

"If it's all civilised, you're not doing it right."

"Trust me, Aethyta. They've been a fair amount of uncivilised moments in our relationship. We've been able to get to the point where we can communicate with each other telepathically." Said Austin.

"No you're not. You can't…"

"He's telling the truth, father. You've seen footage of us in combat haven't you?" said Liara.

"Well, yeah, but I always thought that was because he trained you how to fight with a sword." Said Aethyta, slightly surprised now.

"I only helped. We now use each other as one weapon." Said Austin.

"Well, in that case, I take that back. Sounds like everything's quite healthy with you two."

"Of course it is. We're getting married after all."

"I know. Believe it or not, I actually cried when I found out. You may not think that I hold Shepard in high regard, but I actually do. Helldivers are fine soldiers, and he especially is an honourable human."

"You have no idea. Benezia herself even approved of our relationship in her final moments, when she wasn't…"

"I know what you're saying. It's better to remember her like this than as whatever she turned into with that Saren bastard."

"It wasn't her fault. She was trying to stop Saren, guide him as a force of good. But she was indoctrinated."

"Look, I heard stories about the Reapers messing with your head…"

"They're more than stories. I've seen it. We both have. She fought it with every fibre of her being. She even broke free and helped us on Noveria before she died. I was there. She said I'd made her proud and she even told Shepard to "watch over her beloved daughter."

"All this time I'd blamed Nezzy for it. Thousand years old, and I still don't know crap. Thanks for telling me."

" _Should we ask her?"_ Liara asked telepathically.

" _We should. I think she still deserves it, even if you never did know her as a child."_ Austin replied.

"Listen, you know we plan for the wedding to be in a few months." Said Liara.

"I'm happy for you both. Hope even one day I might have grandchildren." Said Aethyta.

"We hope so to. But, we were hoping you could attend. It would mean the world to both of use if you did." Said Austin.

"I don't know. I've hardly been around for Liara's life."

"Benezia approved of my relationship with Austin too. If I knew her as well as I did, I think she would've wanted you to be there as well."

"Don't you want to actually be there and see your daughter happily married just as you once were?"

"Liara was right when she said you were persuasive. You remind me a bit of another matriarch I used to know." Aethyta smiled. "Yeah. If you really want me to attend that bad, who am I to refuse? I'm sure Nezzy would've done the same thing if in my position."

"I'm tempted to say you're the best father a girl could wish for." Liara smiled.

"Don't go soft on me, now."

At that moment, Austin's omni tool bleeped.

"We should go. Don't' want to keep Xun waiting." He said.

"Just take care of yourself out there, okay, kid?" said Aethyta.

"I will… Dad." Liara smiled.

Liara left first. As Austin went to follow, Aethyta quickly spoke.

"Shepard… thanks for getting us to talk with each other." She said.

"You're welcome, Aethyta. And thank you for agreeing to come to the wedding. It means a lot." Austin smiled.

"At first I didn't want to believe that she'd chosen a human as her bondmate, but I regret thinking that now. It'll be weird to say I have a son in law, but I'll get used it."

"It's feel weird calling you father in law too."

"Look after her, Austin. Because if anything happens to her, you'll have to answer to me."

"I'll protect her. You have my word on that."

Aethyta then took something out of her dress and threw it to Austin.

"Here."

"What is it?" he asked.

"You'll find out. Consider that an early wedding present."

* * *

**Phew! That was worth the effort.**

**Few clarifications, Shepard's new look as the body of the Helldiver Boba Fett (including the cape) the N7 colours from the Helldiver Commander Shepard and finally parts of the Blood Dragon armour.**

**Also, the Normandy SR3 design was made by Deviantart artist pangeranberbajuputih. Like StHeo, he gave me permission to use the design.**

**Right! Next chapter is one I've looked forward to for so long. The Wedding.**

**Hopefully, it won't take me too long, but still...**

**I should also let you know that I will be gone during half term int he next two weeks. Like the last time I went on Holiday though, I will stay be able to continue writing.**

**Leave me reviews! :)**


	41. Chapter 41, Matches made in Heaven

**YES! Target reached! I'd hoped to get this finished before I went away on Friday, and I did. Very pleased with that.**

* * *

**I just want to also quickly use this chapter to answer another guest review.**

_In the game I found the dialogue between Liara and her father amusing, especially when the Krogan part can be used as a joke later like if Liara gets really angry at someone she can blame it on her Krogan grandfather. It is at times like this I find relationships with Asari to be very interesting, I mean one generation could have a Turian father, the one after could have a Krogan father, and the generation after that could have a Human father. That would be one funny family reunion. I always choose Liara as my love interest in all the Mass Effect games, because at the end of it all I can see my Shepard's Asari daughter saving the galaxy like her father for at least a thousand years. Which reminds me, you better show those little blue children in this story or else we'll miss out on an adorable moment._

**Fear not, my friend. We will definitely see those little blue children in my story. They will only appear briefly, but I assure you it will still be an adorable moment.**

* * *

**Happy reading! This chapter was a lot of fun to write. Also, we finally get the start of a relationship many have been eager for.**

**Mastermind4892, this is for you. Cheers mate! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 41**

**Matches made in Heaven**

Nearly 3 months had passed, and now the big day had finally arrived.

Both Austin and Liara had decided it would be nice if they could share their wedding with Ventra and Leena's, which the Turian and Quarian had been happy to agree with.

Making the arrangements and all that had most certainly not been easy. Fortunately, he'd had the combined support of his future wife, and Ventra and Leena.

They'd agreed to have the wedding on Arkadia seeing as all the Helldivers came from there and they'd avoid any unfairness of the wedding being on one homeworld and not the other.

While it was the big day, the wedding wouldn't take place until a bit later. This left Austin a bit of time to check on anything and for him to also await the arrival of Kelly's replacement, which he had been told would be arriving today.

At the moment, he was waiting outside the Normandy docks. With the Collectors defeated, things had got a lot quieter for the Helldivers. Therefore the docks weren't that busy. It would make the recruit's shuttle easy to spot.

Sure enough, just a few minutes later, he saw a shuttle docking quite close to the Normandy. Out of it, stepped a women. She was wearing the traditional Helldiver uniform and had a large backup slung over her back.

She had jet black hair which just reached down to her neck, brown eyes, and richly tanned coloured skin.

Austin was actually a bit surprised since the profiles hadn't had pictures with them. So he hadn't known what to expect.

The woman approached Austin and looked at the Normandy behind him

"Excuse me. Is that the Normandy?" she asked. To Austin surprise, the woman even had a British accent just like him. He imagined that she and Sarah would get along very well.

"That is correct, miss. That's my ship." He nodded.

The woman's eyes widened in surprise.

"You're ship? Then you're…"

"Sir Major Austin Shepard at your service." Austin smiled, doing his best not laugh at the look on the woman's face. He extended his hand out and she shook it. "You must be the new recruit I picked?"

The woman dropped her bag and saluted.

"Comm Specialist Samantha Traynor reporting for duty, sir!" she said.

"Nice to finally meet you in person, Samantha." Said Austin warmly as he extended his hand out, which Samantha seemed at first seemed surprised at and reluctant to return. Eventually though, she slowly shook Austin's hand.

"So, why don't I give you a quick tour so you can familiarize yourself?" Austin offered.

"I, err, yes. Thank you, I'd… like that." Samantha stuttered.

She'd already been a bit nervous when she came here, but having met THE Major Shepard right here, right now, just made her even more nervous. He seemed friendly enough, but still…

* * *

Traynor did her best to look normal and hide her excitement and awe as she took her first steps onto her new post.

First of course was the bridge, during which Austin introduced Joker. Next Austin introduced Traynor to the CIC and to the point where she would be working primarily. Samantha couldn't help but notice a few people looking curiously at the new girl. Traynor was particularly interested in the crew deck's many activates, most particularly the space chess board. Apparently, the new comm specialist had a bit of a thing for chess in many forms. Her service record had after all said it was a hobby, although it had made references to her winning a few tournaments. She gazed in awe at the many things that some of Alpha Squad were doing. Since they were currently off duty and waiting for the wedding later today, they were just passing the time.

As they passed through the gym, Samantha was almost breathless to actually see Alpha Squad in person. All the stories about them hardly did them justice. Even watching them spar with each other still felt like an honor. Some of the Helldivers stopped what they were doing as they saw the new crew member. Two that didn't stop however were Dash and Griffin who were boxing with each other.

As the demolition expert made another swing, Dash was able to block it and then slammed his elbow into Griffin's forehead.

"Ow!"

"Sorry." Dash panted, still springing on his feet slightly, full of energy.

"What the hell was that?!"Said Griffin.

"It's called mixed martial arts. It's been around for… I don't know." Dash replied.

"It's called dirty boxing, Dash." Said Griffin.

After that, Austin seemed to get their attention.

"Ah, this must be Kelly's replacement." Said Sandra.

" _Very pretty one as well."_ Alaara whispered, nudging Sandra slightly.

" _Darling!"_ Sandra hissed.

"Comm specialist, Samantha Traynor." said Samantha as she saluted.

"Put your hand down. There's no need to be so formal." said Austin.

"Comm specialist, huh? Usually that's my job." said Sandra.

 _"With all due respect, Miss Wright, you are more qualified as a comm specialist in the field Specialist Traynor is better suited for being on a ship consonantly."_ said EDI.

Samantha ears seemed to prick up at the sound of EDI's voice.

"That was a beautiful voice. Who was that?" she asked.

"That was EDI, the Normandy's AI." said Austin, slightly surprised that Traynor hadn't realised that earlier.

"Oh. I thought... oh dear." Traynor sighed.

"Don't worry. You're not the first person to say that. Joker can't keep his eyes of her hologram." said Sandra.

 _"Hopefully not the last."_ Sandra whispered naughtily, but a light elbow in the ribs silenced her.

"Aren't there a few more of you?" Traynor asked. "I thought there was also a Turian, a Quarian, and another Asari on this squad."

"Yes. But they're currently preparing for the wedding later today. We'd like to stick to the tradition of the groom not seeing the bride before the wedding." Austin explained.

"Oh yes. Thank you for inviting me to that by the way. It's a huge honor." said Traynor gratefully.

"I saw no harm in it. Plus, it'll give you a chance to get familiar with more of the crew." said Austin.

* * *

Although the Arkanes had no religion since they were a very factual race and believed in the science of the big bang theory and in evolution, they did still have a place where their people or members of other races could be married.

Currently, a lot of the men were changing into their formal wear. Garrus was currently trying to help Ventra out with his uniform, while Austin was sorting out his uniform. He wasn't even trying to hide the grin on his face.

"Do you, Austin Shepard? Yes I do! Most certainly do." He said as he smiled at his reflection.

Among the male members of course was Matt. Unlike his son however, he was finding it a bit more difficult to fit into his uniform. He hadn't worn it for many years so it was not a bit tight for him and his cybernetic arm was also making it even trickier.

"I don't believe this once fit me." He said, still trying to squeeze himself into the jacket.

"When was the last time you wore this?" Austin asked curiously as he gave his father some assistance.

"To my own wedding, I think." Matt replied.

"Must have been quite the occasion." Said Austin, finally managing to finish helping Matt into his jacket.

"I have a feeling yours will be even more memorable." Matt smiled proudly.

"There. That should do it." Said Garrus as he finished helping Ventra with his uniform.

"Errr, are you sure this right?" Ventra asked, noticing that Garrus had got it slightly wrong.

"Nervous, Ventra?" Austin asked.

"Nervous? You and I have practically fought through every single kind of combat. You think I'd get nervous just cause today I'm getting ma…" said Ventra confidently, but then he seemed to faint. Garrus of course was there to catch him.

"Nice going, best man." Said Austin.

* * *

The female crew members meanwhile, along with the two brides and the bridesmaids were gathered in another room.

"Okay, Liara. You're veil's ready." Said Sill as she finished ironing Liara's white veil.

"Thanks, Sill. I couldn't ask for a better bridesmaid." Said Liara from behind her

"You have more than one, you know." Said Sarah, who was finishing putting on her red dress. So that it was appropriate, it was an extremely dark red.

"I meant you and the others as well, Sarah." Said Liara.

The Asari then finally emerged from behind the "So, how do I look?" she asked.

Everyone gazed in awe at Liara. Naturally, she'd selected a white dress. It looked absolutely beautiful. In fact, it was hard to describe such a sight with mere words.

"You look, beautiful." Said Sill, her jaw hanging open slightly. "White really does go with your Azure skin."

Liara and everyone else cast the young Arkane a look.

"What? What did I say?" Sill asked.

"For the Asari, Azure means…" said Xun, whispering the last part in Sill's ear.

"Oh. Sorry, Liara." She apologised.

Xun naturally had been Liara's second choice as a bridesmaid after Sill. Xun was dressed in a red Chinese dress and also were a headset that Chinese women would wear at weddings. Although the dress was much lighter than Sarah's, she had been assured by Austin that it would be appropriate, especially since he was completely respectful towards Xun's culture.

"Sarah?" Liara asked.

"You look gorgeous, Liara." Sarah smiled proudly. "Can't believe that in a few hours I'll be able to start calling you sister."

"I feel the same." Liara smiled as she and Sarah hugged one another.

Tali was also present since she was Leena's bridesmaid. Even though she was the Quarian's only bridesmaid, combined with Liara's bridesmaids made it a good number.

"Leena, you ready yet?" she asked as she finished attaching the last dress attachment to her suit.

"Just about." Leena replied as she stepped out wearing a wedding dress attachment. "Well?"

"Keehlah, you look fabulous. You both do." Said Tali happily.

"Hope the best men will be able to catch your grooms when they swoon." Sarah joked, causing all the other girls to laugh or giggle along with her.

* * *

With everyone pretty much finished dressing, the guests were now starting to arrive. Austin of course felt it best that he greet them all, especially seeing as how he had sent the invitations to them. He was currently just making sure his suit was absolutely perfect when Sarah came in. Since she was his sister, she was allowed.

"Nervous, brother?" she asked.

"Have you ever known me to be nervous?" Austin chuckled.

"Well, there was that time on the Collector Base…" Sarah teased.

"That was not nerves, Sarah. That was the rage of battle." Said Austin.

Both siblings laughed as Austin then picked up Excalibur and started fastening it to his belt, much to Sarah's surprise.

"You're wearing your sword?" she asked.

"Why not? Nothing saying Excalibur can't be used at ceremonies as well." Said Austin.

"True. Looks quite nice with your outfit actually." Said Sarah.

"You don't really want to start this again, do you?"

"I was being sincere."

"You are incapable of sincerity, Sarah."

"Am I?"

"Yes."

"I've looked forward to this day as long as you have." Said Sarah. "You're my brother, and I love you dearly. Sometimes I'm envious, but never doubtful of you."

Austin smiled and he and Sarah hugged each other tightly.

"Thank you." He said.

"Now give us a kiss." Sarah joked.

"Stop it." Austin laughed as they separated.

"Really though, how do I look?" he asked seriously.

"Like a man who's about to have the happiest day of his life and be married to the most beautiful Asari in the galaxy." Sarah smiled.

"I'll tell her you said that."

"I mean it. You're lucky to have someone like her." Said Sarah. There was a slight hint of regret in her voice.

"You'll find someone, Sarah. I'm sure of it." Said Austin as he put his hand on his sister's shoulder.

"You always know how to cheer a girl up."

"You'd be surprised."

There was a brief silence before Sarah finally spoke again.

"It's time."

"You go ahead." Said Austin. "Go on. I just need a moment."

* * *

The hall was already starting to fill with so many faces.

"This way, ladies and gentlemen." Said X-5 as he directed everyone.

"See? This is why I love weddings." Said Dash, admiring the sight of so many people they'd met before.

"That I can agree with. Nothing better than being surrounded by friends and family." Said Griffin.

At that moment, both he and Austin suddenly heard a voice calling his name.

Out of the crowd ran a woman with shoulder length black hair and tanned skin. She appeared to be wearing an Alliance uniform. To their surprise, she flung herself into Griffin's arms.

"So good to see you!" she said.

"Errr, have we met?" Griffin asked nervously.

"You're joking." The woman replied surprisingly. "It's me, Ashley."

Both Austin and Griffin were taken aback by this. Now they definitely saw Ash's face in there. Her new grown hairstyle had made it difficult for them to recognize her. Before, Ashley had always had it tied in a bun, plus, even like that it hadn't been anywhere near this long.

"Ash? Wow! You look great. Almost didn't recognize you." Austin smiled as he and Ashley hugged each other. "Love what you've done with your hair."

"Had a feeling you might." Ashley smiled. She then noticed that Griffin still had his mouth open and was speechless with Ashley's new look. "Griff, put your tongue back in your mouth before you trip on it."

Three more women then suddenly made their way through the crowd and joined Ashley. No doubting that these were her sisters.

"So, which one's your boyfriend, sis?" asked one of them.

"Sarah, Abby, Lynn, this is Alex Wilson." Said Ash, introducing her boyfriend to them.

"Call me Griffin." He said, finally managing to find his voice at last.

"And of course you remember Austin." Said Austin.

"Nice to see you all again." Said Austin modestly, bowing his head.

"Quite the gentlemen, sis. Shame he's not getting married to you." Sarah teased.

"Sarah, stop it, please. You're embarrassing me." Ashley sighed.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, before Austin finally broke it.

"Griffin, why don't you help the Williams' find their seats? I need to continue greeting the other guests." He suggested.

"Good idea." Griffin quickly agreed. "Ladies, if you'll follow me."

With Griffin taking care of Ashley and her sisters, Austin could not return to the rest of the guests.

He was quick to spot the rest of the former team as they entered.

"Shepard. A pleasure to see you again." Samara smiled.

Surprisingly, Samara wasn't wearing her usual Justicar armour. Instead she was wearing a red Asari dress that did in a way resemble her original outfit.

"You too, Samara. I'm glad you could make it." Said Austin as he and the Justicar shook hands.

"As am I, my friend." Said Samara.

The two friends nodded to one another and Samara went to find her seat.

Next to turn up was Grunt who had managed to been convinced to wear something suitable for the occasion.

"Shepard."

"Grunt." Austin acknowledged. "Where's Wrex?"

"He sends his apologies. Being clan leader and all that, he couldn't' really leave Tuchanka. He wanted me to tell you he's very sorry about that." said Grunt.

"It's no problem. We might be able to get a holo link set up for him." Said Austin.

Grunt simply nodded and went off to find Kraan.

Next to turn up were Jack and Kelly who had managed to take time off from their duties at Grissom Academy to attend. To Austin's surprise, Jack was actually in a dress. Kelly of course was in a very elegant gown.

To Austin's surprise, Kelly practically threw herself into his arms.

"Easy now, Kelly. Don't choke him to death." Said Jack.

"Nice to see you both too." Austin panted as Kelly finally let him go. "How've you two been?"

"You'd be surprised how good of a teacher Jack is." Kelly replied.

"Really?" Austin asked curiously. "Would've thought she might struggle a bit with children. No offense, Jack."

"None taken, Shepard. Kelly thought the same way. You should've seen the look on her face at the end of the first day. Those kids are great to teach biotics to." Said Jack.

The rest of the original team was quick to arrive as well. Thane, accompanied by Kolyat (who it seemed was doing much better with his father) Mordin, Legion (who had eventually been allowed past security thanks to Austin X-5, and Tali all vouching for him) and also Zaeed.

In addition to that, there were also some friendly faces that either Alpha or Austin had become well acquainted with during their travels. Arnold and Kat were among some of the other Helldiver guests to join, Uthenra of course had also come having been invited by Austin and the fact that she was the wife and mother of his two Arkane engineer friends, Oriana Lawson and her family after Miranda had very kindly asked him if she could bring her twin sister along so as to get to know her and her family better, and even Lizbeth Baynham and Shiala had come along with Lizbeth's mother, Juliana.

"Shepard. A pleasure to see you again." Shiala smiled.

"And you, Shiala. You bought Lizbeth and her mother as well I see." said Austin.

"Shiala told us both of how you got the medical contracts revised. Thank you again, Shepard. The colony owes you all a great debt." said Juliana.

"Why is Shiala still green though?" Austin asked, now noticing that the Asari's skin was still green. He would've thought that had been cured by now.

"While we were able to get the sicknesses treated, my skin pigment has failed to change back. I'm starting to think that it never will." said Shiala. "However, I can live with that. What has changed at least is that my biotics have returned to normal and I am no longer having nightmares about my enslavement with the Thorian."

"I'm glad you're all doing well." said Austin. "Also nice to see some love blossom after what the colony endured."

"How did you..."

"Please. I'm about to get married. I can easily tell bondmates when I see them." said Austin, indicating to Shiala and Lizbeth holding hands. "For what it's worth, I'm very happy for you."

"Thank you, Shepard." said Lizbeth. It's all thanks to you of course. If you hadn't helped the colony, well... we're all glad you did.

The last of the guests were now arriving. Rather surprisingly, even Councillor Spartan and Tarnack had been invited. Anderson had also been able to take some time off from the Citadel Council in order to attend the event. Udina and the rest of the Council of course had not been invited. Both Austin and the Helldivers were still on bad terms with the Citadel Council, so naturally they hadn't been invited, and when asked about Udina's invitation Austin had simply shrugged and joked that it must've got lost in the mail. Even Gianna Parasini and Dr Michel had been invited as well.

One more friendly face that had just arrived was Emily Wong, who would be doing the network coverage of the wedding. Ever since the wedding had been announced, Austin's return was now full public knowledge. Naturally of course, the press had been abuzz with stories about the Helldiver still being alive.

Of course, there had been no escaping them here. The Arkane's had told Austin that there was nothing they could do to keep the press out completely, but that he could at least pick who would be at the wedding.

Khalisah Al Jilani had originally been selected by the press, but there was no way Austin was letting her anywhere near here to spoil this perfect day. Instead, Austin had picked Emily Wong due to his trust for her and the fact that he had done a few jobs for her after she had sought his help.

The journalist of course had been more than happy to attend.

"Miss Wong. Pleasure to see you again." said Austin modestly as he and Emily shook hands.

"Major Shepard, I think we're friendly enough with each other to not be so formal." she said.

"Okay... Emily." Austin smiled.

"Thank you for inviting me, Shepard. It's a real honour." said Emily gratefully.

"I have no problem with the press getting coverage of this event and I trust you more than I trust any other reporter." said Austin.

With pretty much all the guests arrived, everyone was now taking their seats. It was surprising that so many people could fit in the hall. It was by no means the biggest building on Arkadia.

"You'll be glad to know that there is no sushi bar at the reception, darling." said Uthenra as she sat down next to Dell.

"Good. We wouldn't want a repeat of what happened last time. I still smell like soy sauce." said Dell.

"I hope this goes quickly. I'm favished." said Kraan.

"No." Dash chuckled.

"Are you attached to that pretty face of yours? Because one more word and you won't be." Grunt laughed.

"My, we are hungry, aren't we?" said Dash. "Oh go on, Zaeed, smile. You can do it. Even you, Zaeed Massani. Just once, smile."

Despite Dash's enthusiasm though, Zaeed's mouth didn't change.

"Alright, half a smile." said Dash. "Look, forget the smile, just show some teeth. Remember, it's a happy occasion!"

"Dash, he's not going to do it." said Sandra. "But, if you'd like a challenge, I know of an even greater one for you."

"Name it, Sandra."

"Keeping your mouth shut."

Two holograms were also being projected. One of Feron, and one of Wrex. There had been some debate among Xun and Feron on who would go to the wedding. They couldn't both go since they couldn't leave the ship unattended. Sure there was the Helldiver crew, but none of them were trained or qualified to handle the Broker network.

In the end, Feron had decided that he would stay so that Xun could go with Oranna, who had also been invited. He could tell the two had a thing for each other, and he knew that Oranna would definitely enjoy Xun's company at the wedding more than she would his.

Ventra and Austin meanwhile, along with the best men were gathered at the altar. There had been a lot of talk among the male crew members about who Austin would pick to be his best man. Up till now, they been completely stumped since he hadn't asked any of them. To their surprise, it was actually Zartrack who was the best man. When they thought about it however, it wasn't completely a surprise. Zartrack had known Shepard ever since he finished his basic training, he'd made Austin into the soldier he was today, and Austin had been his favourite student.

It was strange seeing the Arkane General in something other than his armour. Perched on his shoulder was Zartrack's pet falcon, Leliana.

"You guys seen Leena? She's not having second thoughts, is she?!" Ventra asked nervously.

"Calm yourself, Prarken. It's tradition for the groom, or grooms in your case, not to see their brides before the ceremony. I'm sure they'll be along shortly." said Zartrack reassuringly.

Sure enough, just a few minutes later, the organ started playing and both Aethyta and Shala start red walking their daughters down the aisle.

Both Austin and Ventra were amazed by how beautiful their brides were.

"Human customs still elude me." said X-5.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Liara asked, notching that her father's eyes were tearing up a bit.

"Yeah. Just have something in my eye." said the Matriarch, doing her best to hide her tears.

"Dad, there's no harm in letting your sensitive side show at a time like this." said Liara.

"You sound just like your mother saying that." Aethyta smiled. "You look beautiful, kid. If Nezzy could see this, she'd practically be in tears."

"You are. I suppose that counts." said Liara.

"I'm very proud of you, Leena." said Shala. "I only wish you father could see this."

"I'm sure father would've been very proud too, mother." said Leena.

The two brides finally reached the altar. Aethyta gave Liara to Austin and Shala gave Leena to Ventra.

All four of them had come to the agreement that the Consort Sha'ira would be the one to preside over the wedding. The Asari stepped up and then cleared her throat.

"Just before we begin, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to quickly state that both brides and grooms have agreed for this ceremony to be done in the human tradition." she said.

There was a small murmur as the crowd agreed before going quiet again.

"Anyway, now that you are sitting comfortably, I shall begin." said Sha'ira. The Consort opened the book, and she began reading.

"We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of these four souls in the bonds of holy matrimony." first she turned to her left where Austin and Liara were. "Sir Major Austin Shepard, do you take Liara T'soni to be your lawful wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, and forsaking all others, till death do you part?"

"I do." Austin replied, smiling at Liara as she smiled back.

"Liara T'soni, do you take Sir Major Austin Shepard to be your lawful wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, and forsaking all others, till death do you part?" said Sha'ira.

"I do." Liara replied.

Next, Sha'ira turned to Leena and Ventra.

"Will you, Ventra Prarken, have Leena Raan vas Penthra to be your lawful wedded wife? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, and forsaking all others, till death do you part?" she said.

"I will." Ventra replied.

"And will you, Leena Raan vas Penthra, have Ventra Prarken to be your lawful wedded husband? To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, and forsaking all others, till death do you part?" Sha'ira repeated for the last time.

"I will." Leena replied.

"Then by the power vested in me by the Goddess Athame, and as the Citadel Consort, I know pronounce you husbands, and wives." Sha'ira smiled.

"Amen." said Griffin quietly.

"Bravo!" Dash cheered.

"Congratulations. You may kiss your brides." Sha'ira smiled.

Austin lifted Liara's veil and the two drew each other into a kiss.

Ventra went to do the same, but found Leena's helmet blocking him.

"Oh. Errr…" he stuttered for a moment, before then then planted a kiss on Leena's mouthpiece.

"Yeah. That will do." the Quarian laughed.

The crowd erupted into thunderous applause as they observed the two now married couples.

Both the brides now knew what came next. The throwing of the flowers. All the women were instantly ready.

Liara went first. She turned her back and then threw the flowers up into the air. The women reached out in hopes of catching them. Then someone caught them. Sarah looked at the flowers in her hand with surprise. It was surprising. She still didn't' even have anyone yet.

Nevertheless, this did bring her a bit of happiness. Perhaps it was a sign that there was still hope for her. Maybe this was even fate telling her that tonight would be the night she found piece, where she finally found someone to love. Using this to fuel her happiness, she smiled and simply bowed modestly. She didn't want to make the other girls feel bad.

Now it was Leena's turn, and she seemed even more enthusiastic than Liara did.

"Ready, girls?!" she called excitedly.

The Quarian then threw the flowers. They went high up before starting to fall. Surprisingly, all the girls had to back up slightly since they were heading at more of an angle. Some of the girls were even bagging into the chairs. Finally the flowers landed, and in the hands of someone very unexpected.

Acting purely on instinct, Griffin had reached out and caught the flowers in his hands. Only now did he realise what he'd down. This sort of thing only tended to happen in movies. He'd never known a man to catch the flowers in real life.

Despite the surprise though, the crowd once again cheered.

"Hmm, didn't see that one coming." Ashley smiled

"Oh come 'ere!" said Griffin.

To Ashley's surprise, Griffin pulled her into a deep kiss. The cheering and clapping only increased with this. Even the two married couples clapped.

"Guess we know which wedding will be next." said Sha'ira.

 _"Hope we don't have to stand here for the whole day."_ said Liara telepathically.

 _"Why's that... my wife."_ Austin thought back.

 _"Because if we do, we'll waste good celebration time."_ Liara replied.

Both the two chuckled and simply kissed again.

* * *

Everyone had now moved into the dining part of the building for the wedding reception.

Both Zartrack and Garrus had their speeches prepared. They were expecting that voice to say the words anytime now. They didn't need to wait long.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, pray silence for the first Best Man, General Alkatraan Zartrack."

Zartrack slowly stood up and cleared his throat as the crowd clapped for him. After the cheering died down, he spoke.

"Here, today, ladies and gentlemen, is the wedding of my best student. Sir Major Austin Shepard. I have known Austin ever since I took him in as a student and he rose out to be THE best student out of all of my classes. Now, he has a wonderful wife that will stand by his side to the end. I'm proud to say that I know the both of them. I can think of no reason why they should not enjoy their lives, and I hope their marriage is blessed with nothing but happiness. They deserve nothing less. A toast to one of the best of the Helldivers and to his lovely wife!"

The crowd raised their glasses.

"And now for the second Best Man, Garrus Vakarian."

Garrus stood up and cleared his throat. Unlike Zartrack, he was a tiny bit more nervous.

" Uh, folks, here we have witnessed the wedding of my Turian friend, Ventra. I have only met him a few months ago but we became best buddies and one thing I would like to say." Said Garrus.

The Turian turned to Ventra.

"I still got more headshots than you!"

Ventra and some of the crowd laughed.

"A Toast to Ventra and his wife!"

Once again, everyone raised their glasses.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the father of the first bride."

" _Here we go."_ Aethyta sighed as she stood up.

"Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen, those who do not know me, Aethyta T'soni. I have to congratulate my daughter on marrying such a fine man. I will admit, that when I first found out that my daughter was dating a human, I had doubts. I apologise if this may not seem like the best speech, but it is best to tell the truth. I didn't think that a human would be the best person for Liara. But then I finally got to see my daughter for the first time, and I could see the love she and Austin had for one another. That love reminded me of the time I spent with Benezia. I don't care if many remember her as what she eventually became under Saren's control. Both I and Liara will remember her as we used to, as the person we both loved dearly. Seeing some of the things that Austin can do, what he fights for, and how much he loves my girl, I know he is the perfect match for Liara and I support them both. May the Goddess watch over them both and bring them eternal happiness. Thank you." She said.

The crowd once again clapped.

"That was well said, Dad. Mother would be proud." Said Liara as her father sat down.

"She'd be proud of us both, kid." Said Aethyta.

Finally, it was Shala's turn to speak. Being an Admiral, Austin had a feeling that the Admiral wouldn't have any problem with this.

"This is a special occasion for my daughter, Leena vas Penthra. She is very special to me and I am honoured to be here at her wedding. She is marrying a Turian that she has known for more than ten years. She loves him deeply and I support her. I wish the best for both of them. Keelah Se'lai." She said.

* * *

The party was already in full swing. So many of the guests were either dancing, getting drinks, or just talking. Everyone was doing something. The Drell band that had been hired to play at the wedding was also playing many of their best songs. Surprisingly, they even had Sill doing some of the singing with them. Not a big surprise considering how the teenage Arkane listened, and sung along, to so much music.

"Didn't think you knew how to dance this well." Said Liara.

"Life is full of surprises. Besides, I could say the same of you." Said Austin.

"Xun taught me more than just being a Helldiver." Liara winked.

"Try to save it for tonight." Said Alaara, who naturally was dancing wife her wife, Sandra.

The sudden though of what she and Austin were going to do tonight started to make Liara feel a bit different than usual.

Her body knew she was now fully committed to a mate now. She started to feel herself yearning for Austin a lot more than she used to, both in intensity and frequency. Due to how rarely an Asari chooses a more permanent mate, she found herself a lot more relaxed, an incredible sense of freedom as it settled down in the presence of its chosen mate. It was just so fulfilling to her (with emphasis on the "filling"). Liara was starting to think she would be seeking a lot of release and satisfaction from now on.

As the music started to now settle into a more slow and romantic tone, so too did the dancing. Liara got the message and rested her head on her husband's chest. Some of the other dancing couples, like Ashley and Griffin, did the same thing. Sandra of course had to keep readjusting her wife's arm which kept moving down to her behind every second or so.

* * *

Sometime later, after much hard partying and merry making, Austin and Liara felt they just needed a small break and they retreated back into the now empty hall where'd just been married a few hours ago.

"Oh Goddess, we did it!" Liara smiled as they finished kissing.

"We just got married." Said Austin, almost in a bit of disbelief. "I still keep thinking that any second I'm gonna wake up."

"This is very real, my love. Trust me."

Liara was finding herself starting to squirm slightly. Her body was really start to act up now, as certain areas were 'hardening' while other areas started to grow more sensitive, and her azure suddenly felt very empty, begging to be filled. After having tried to ignore it for the last hour or so (unsuccessfully) she eventually felt she should at least make this known to Austin. She sent a few 'enticing' images to Austin's mind.

"Easy there, tigress." Austin finally said, blinking a few times after having overcome Liara projecting practically pornography of herself into his head. "Later. The ceremony and the party are still on-going."

A few seconds later, the rest of Alpha Squad suddenly joined them as well, accompanied by Ventra and Leena as well.

"Hey guys." Said Austin as he and Liara hugged Ventra and Leena, as well as everyone else as well.

"Gotta say, that ceremony was so beautiful." Said Sarah.

"Was it perfect? Is it too soon to see the video?" Leena asked.

"Guys, can we just take a moment?" said Griffin. "Three of our best friends, and our squad leader just got married. We are so blessed to be able to share in this incredible joy."

"Amen to that." Said Ashley.

"I'm so happy for you guys." Said Sarah. "You're both so lucky."

"You'll be lucky too. You caught my flowers after all." Said Liara.

"Thanks… sister." Sarah smiled as she hugged Liara.

"I thought that was my line." Austin chuckled.

* * *

The party continued long into the night. Austin was struggling even more to keep his wife under control. Liara could barely wait until the moment when they finally got to retire to their room. Hoping to speed things up, she had started constantly transmitting sensations to him.

It had started with a few phantom kisses at first, but now they were traveling down his neck to the rest of his body. Liara had also now started sending more 'interesting' sensations as well. Even though she was standing and dancing with him, and while they were both still fully clothed, he could still feel her lips around his shaft at times, and other sensations at other times. He could now imagine perfectly the sensation of his Asari wife rubbing her nude body against him.

Austin was beginning to understand why Alaara had sex with Sandra practically every night, which had started after their marriage, as well as a few in the mornings as well. In fact, the couple themselves could easily notice the newly wed couple's 'discomfort', Liara's especially. The two discussed it between themselves, knowing very well about Liara's needs. Doing so made them reminisce of their own wedding, how Alaara herself had started to react, her own teasing, and the nights they shared ever since.

Eventually, as the party was finally reaching it's very near end, the teasing and discomfort finally became unbearable.

As the two were dancing very slowly, most of their energy having been exhausted by all the dancing and many other crazy things that had happened today, Austin moved his head down slightly until it rested against Liara's who was once again resting against his chest.

"You wanna get out of here? Think my patience has finally reached a breaking point." He whispered.

He noticed that Leena and Ventra were having the same idea nearby and he simply nodded to them and winked at Ventra who simply smiled and nodded back.

"Good things come to those that wait." Liara smiled. "The apartment's nearby, and I want you all to myself."

* * *

When they finally arrived, Austin didn't even hesitate in scooping Liara up in his arms and carrying her all the way up their room. Their real home of course was on Thessia after Benezia had left that home to her daughter, but they weren't willing to wait a whole shuttle trip for this. They'd planned ahead with this.

When Austin finally managed to close the door with his foot since he didn't want to put Liara down, they both wasted no time in starting to undress each other. Liara had a slightly harder time due to her dress, but that didn't stop them.

"There's nowhere in the whole galaxy I'd rather be." Liara sighed as Austin's lowly eased her out of her dress, exposing "his favourite pillows" is he sometimes called them.

"There's no one I'd rather be with." he smiled.

As Liara worked on getting his belt undone, she felt something hard, and it wasn't his erection.

"Oooh, why do you have a gun concealed in your trousers?" she asked, as she pulled a pistol out.

"Old habits." said Austin.

Within just a few seconds, they were both naked before they reached the bed. Austin almost instantly eased himself into his wife as he held her up. His flaccid member began to harden even more as it filled with blood while inside Liara's moist Azure.

"I've been so looking forward to this." Liara moaned as she bounced on Austin's hard cock.

The two finally reached the bed and Austin allowed himself to fall onto it while Liara was in his arms, his member sliding out of her in the process. Liara wasted no time in setting to work and she took her husband's cock in her hand and started stroking it slightly.

"Before we begin, I want you to simply listen to me for a moment." said Liara erotically as she continued stroking.

"With you holding my dick like that, I'm all ears." Austin panted slightly.

"First off, we're gonna start with me taking this big guy into my mouth, then we'll join mind and I'm gonna use my enlargement technique to make it grow even bigger!" said the Asari as she upped the pace of her strokes.

"You sure you want to do that tonight?" Austin grunted.

"Of course. This is our wedding night after all. For Goddess' sake, we're gonna go all the way tonight!" said Liara.

"Okay. Keep talking." said Austin.

Liara continued stroking even more, using her biotics to speed her hand up a bit more. Austin could feel each throb of his raging erection as his wife sexually tortured him.

"Then I think I might do a little dance for you, during which I'll make my tits even larger while you touch yourself to the sight. Then I'm gonna ride you hard, my Matriarch breasts bouncing up and down! We'll 69, you'll take me in all my holes, you'll..."

"If you keep talking dirty like that, you're gonna get my cum all over your face!" Austin groaned, trying his best to delay his orgasm, but all this was proving a bit much.

"Good! Don't hold back, my love! I want your first load to truly mark me as your new wife!" said Liara encouragingly, her strokes now so fast they were practically a blur.

"Oh shit!" Austin moaned as he felt the cum shoot out and right onto Liara's face and slightly into her open mouth and even a few tiny spurts land on her breasts.

"Damn. That was a hell of a good start." Austin panted.

"Mmmmm, you taste so good, and it feels so good and warm on my body. Said Liara.

"You're practically an animal, Liara." Austin smiled. "I don't know if I have that many in the chamber if you know what I mean."

Liara chuckled slightly at this. "I love you so much, Austin Shepard."

"And I love you too, Mrs Shepard." Austin smiled.

"Lie down on the bed, now!"

Austin obeyed and lay on his back. Liara swung her leg over until she was on top. The two loves simply kissed for a while before they looked lovingly into each other's eyes and prepared to initiate the meld.

"Ready for this, husband?" Liara asked, tenderly stroking his face.

"All I am is ready, my wife. Do it!"

"Embrace Eternity!"

Liara's eyes once again went black and they felt their minds become one. This time, it truly did feel as though they were whole again. Liara found it so easy to forget about everything else as she felt Austin's mind weave into hers as though it was meant for her. Memories were shared, emotions and images exchanged, two really did become one. For the first time, Liara felt more happier than she'd ever been in her life. She felt as though she and Austin would be together for eternity. Nothing could separate them, not even death. The whole experience of this made Liara orgasm early a tiny bit by accident. At least now it was one all for them, not that it was a competition.

Liara's kisses trailed lower and lower until she finally reached her husband's erection, which was throbbing so much it looked barely able to hold all that blood in. That would soon change.

"All yours, darling." Austin smiled.

Liara wrapped both her hands around him, activated her biotics and simply watched in awe as the organ grew once again. Since this was a special night, she went another step further again. Rather than increasing the length however as she'd previously done, as 17 inches was way more than enough, she made the width much large. Austin gritted his teeth at the sheer pleasure he felt as even more blood flooded into his engorged member and he felt Liara's grip loosen a lot, almost as though her hand got smaller rather than him getting bigger.

Liara nearly drooled as she gazed at the massive cock in front of her. It was so thick now that her hand could now only rap around half of it. She hoped all her holes could handle something this large. Previous times alone had been a challenge that she'd only just been able to accomplish.

"Sometimes I amaze even myself." she said.

"Hurts... needs a hand... touching it. Needs release." Austin groaned, the veins in his cock throbbing so much they looked as though they'd burst.

"I'd better start then." Liara smiled.

As the Asari gently slid off the bed, she moved one of Austin's hand to his cock so that he knew to start masturbating while she danced naked in front of him.

Using her omni tool, Liara put on the most erotic Asari music she knew of and started dancing. Some moans could be heard in the music's background. Even she got wet hearing those. She could only imagine how desperate her husband must be for release.

Already wet from briefly being inside both Liara's pussy and mouth earlier, Austin's member was already nice and wet, so masturbating it was not hard. Austin's strokes where hard and fast, almost as though he was trying to squeeze the cum out. At the same time though, he didn't want to rush. He wanted watch Liara dance as long as possible. After all, the Asari had said that Alaara had given her some sex advice and taught her a few moves.

Liara started off very slow as the music began. She moved her hips and chest so gently, but at the same time they looked so fluid, like she was water flowing naturally.

As the music's pace then started to increase, and the background moans intensified, Liara began to swing her chest from side to side which made her boobs shake. That alone was torture for Austin as he continued touching himself. Liara couldn't help but smile evilly at the sexual torture she was giving her bond mate. She felt her Azure get even wetter as she imagined the other things they were going to do tonight

Feeling that Austin had waited long enough, Liara took both her breasts in her hands and started enlarging them too. The throbbing in Austin's cock only grew worse as Liara's tits once again became as large as a Matriarchs. He briefly wondered if Aethyta were that big, but he quickly banished the thought. He'd only let his mind think of his wife tonight. Only Liara!

Liara's massive tits swayed beautifully as Liara continued dancing and massaging them slightly with her hands. Even her erect nipples received attention from her fingers.

Austin could feel the cum once again creeping up his shaft. He only hoped it wouldn't make a mess of the bed. Sensing her husband was about to cum again, Liara quickly got back onto the bed and wrapped both her tits around his organ, using her free hand to stroke the remainder of it.

"Fuck my tits, Austin! Fuck them!"

Austin's hips thrust as best he could. It was a tiny bit painful because of his raging erection begging for release.

"Oh god! I don't' know if I can cum! The pain keeps delaying it." Austin moaned through gritted teeth.

"Look at me, Austin! Use my naked body to make you cum."

Austin opened his eyes and gazed at Liara, her massive tits wrapped around his throbbing cock, and the rest of her nude from glistening with sweat. Liara then only made it even better by moving up and down. Finally, the pain subsided, and he felt the cum finally break free.

"FUCK!"

Having already got most of his previous cumshot on her face, Liara this time took as much of the huge penis as she could into her mouth. Austin came so hard that Liara was only just able to not gag on the huge amount he was shooting. Her tongue almost worked overtime as she lapped up her husband's seed. The taste was so strong her mind was drawing blank.

After completely milking her husband's cock entirely, Liara let it slowly slide out of her mouth with a wet pop.

"Feeling better now?" she asked.

"Yeah. Blimey, I'm surprised this is scientifically possible." Said Austin as he finally noticed his massive cock. He'd known it was large, but he'd had no idea Liara had made it so wide compared to before. He was almost concerned that it wouldn't fit in his wife at all.

"Ready to keep going?" Liara asked.

"I think so. I still feel quite full. Wait, did you…"

Liara simply winked. She had! She'd very slightly enlarged his balls as well.

Before Austin could say anything, Liara got on top of him in the 69 position, her dripping Azure hovering mere millimetres from his face. As he felt the Asari start to take his shaft into her mouth, he started doing the same and began licking at her wet folds, enjoying her sweet honeyed taste.

Liara moaned pleasurably onto Austin's cock as his tongue lapped at her Azure. The vibrations and humming she was making only added to Austin pleasure and he stuck his tongue even deeper. It wasn't long before he was able to bring Liara to her own orgasm.

"On to the main event then?" Liara asked.

"On all fours then, like a good girl." Austin smiled slyly.

"You practically read my mind." Liara smiled.

The Asari slid off of her bond mate and got on all fours. Austin positioned himself behind Liara and gently pushed in. Since his cock was already well lubed up from Liara's Azure, he slid in with relative ease. He took special care not to hurt Liara due to how big he was now. It was often a bit of a struggle when she enlarged him this big and they tried anal.

Liara gritted her teeth as her bond mate continued to pound into her, his balls slapping against her wet pussy and his hands squeezing her large breasts firmly.

There was no denying she was close to her climax, and she could tell Austin was feeling the same way.

"I'm close, Austin!" she moaned.

"Get on top then." said Austin.

The Helldiver gently slid out and once again lay down ont he bed. Liara swung her leg over him and straddled him, his throbbing shaft poking between her ass cheeks. Reaching back, Liara gave Austin several hard strokes before slowly inserting him into her Azure, which put up no resistance whatsoever since they both had now grown accustomed to each other. Austin slid in easily.

"Oh Goddess! You're always so big!" Liara moaned.

"And you're always so tight!" Austin groaned.

They started off slow with Austin gently moving in and out of Liara while she gently moved her hips in time with his gentle thrusts. Eventually, they began to pick up the pace and started going faster and faster.

Austin gazed in awe at Liara's large tits bouncing up and down in front of him. That sight would never get old for him. He reached up with both his hands and took a breast in each hand, tweaking her dark blue nipples slightly with his fingers.

"YES! YES!" Liara cried as Austin brought her even more pleasure.

The two then switched so that Liara was no lying down and Austin was now on top. Austin used both his hands to bring Liara's legs up higher so that he could thrust even deeper into her.

Naturally of course, it did the trick and Liara practically screamed as her husband's massive cock reached deeper that it ever had been. The wet slapping coming from their hips as they connected only added to how horny they both were. Pretty soon, they were beyond stopping now.

"Oh Goddess! Let's cum together!"

The two held tightly together and moaned out load as they finally released. Liara panted in pleasure at the feeling of her bond mates warm cum reach deep enough into her woman that it would've made a human women pregnant.

Their final climax left the Asari practically twitching in the afterglow of what was possibly not only the most fulfilling but the most powerful orgasm since their first Union. Austin simply smiled proudly, his softening shaft hardening agin just a tiny bit. The image of his wife squirming in such an afterglow was quite appealing.

Any cum that overflowed out of Liara's pussy was gather up by her fingers and put into her mouth. She seemed surprised. The taste seemed even sweeter than before, and somewhat more addictive. She could only guess this was a result of using the enlargement on his balls. She could only imagine what next time would be like.

"That was incredible, Austin." Liara panted as Austin used one hand to stroke her crest, and the other to caress some of her smooth skin.

"You were just as incredible, darling." he sighed happily.

"So... here we finally are. Married." Liara smiled.

"Best thing that's ever happened to me."

"You're so sweet."

"All that's left now is to defeat the Reapers, and then we can move to final stage of those little blue children."

"You really are serious about that, aren't you?"

"Only if you want it too, Liara. I wouldn't dream of forcing you into anything if you feel you aren't ready."

"Well, we still have time. Maybe when the war is over, and with a bit of time... maybe I will gain the confidence for being a mother."

Austin smiled naughtily and he caressed Liara's tummy slightly, electing several giggles from his wife.

"Stop it! That tickles!"

When Austin finally stopped, the two simply looked into each other's eyes.

"I love you." said Austin.

"I love you too." said Liara.

"Ready to rest, my wife?"

"Definitely... husband."

The two sealed their lips with a tender kiss as they slowly drifted off, Austin's member still inside Liara's Azure. During their sleep, they hoped they could perhaps make a plan for their honeymoon. Austin especially had a few things in mind.

* * *

Sarah walked to her cabin, her mind refusing to stop thinking about the flowers, and that she didn't really have anyone. It now occurred to the N7 marine that she was now the same age that Austin had been when he first met Liara, and now the two were, married and happier than ever in just 3 years, possibly 4 even. Yet she was still without anyone. None of the relationships she'd had, had lasted that long. There had been one girl she really liked a few years ago, but she'd never really got a chance to develop that further.

Despite that she'd caught the flowers; Sarah couldn't help but feel the small bit of lonely depression eating at her. She was wondering whether she'd find someone, like a nice handsome and strong man or... or maybe even a sweet and attractive young wo—

Sarah felt herself walk right into someone, sending quite a few datapads tumbling onto the floor.

"Oh crap! Sorry. I'm so clumsy." She apologised as she helped the women gather up the datapads. As she reached for the last one, the woman's hand touched hers. She looked up into the woman's face. She almost felt her heart stop for a moment.

She found herself looking into the face of one of the most beautiful women she'd seen in her life. Richly tanned skin, black hair, and even an accent much like her own.

"Oh! Oh my god, I-I-I'm so sorry! I, uh... I wasn't watching where I was... I'll just, uh..." Traynor stuttered embarrassingly. Just as the comm specialist turned to leave however, Sarah called out.

"Wait!" she said, suddenly clamping her hand over her mouth, shocked that she had called out; it was unlike her to be so forward.

Yet when the girl turned back to face her, the expression on her face was so sincere she knew she couldn't just let her walk away. She took a few tentative steps forward.

"There's no reason to be nervous. I don't even know your name."

Mentally, she made a decision, never once questioning whether it was the wrong thing to do. She stepped toward the young woman boldly, and held out her hand.

"Hi. I'm Sarah. Are you new here? I don't remember seeing you before."

Sarah hadn't prepared for the sudden rush of warmth that spread through her chest at the girl's pearly smile. She was even less prepared for the physical jolt she felt when their palms brushed together and warm fingers closed around her hand.

"Traynor! Um... Comm Specialist Samantha Traynor! But you can call me Samantha... uh, if that's alright with you." said Traynor, practically rambling now. She was nervous and frightened. So much so that she hadn't even realised she still had yet to raise her hand in salute.

"Yes! Now I remember. You're Kelly's replacement, aren't you?" said Sarah. "Nice to finally meet you. I read your record after my brother picked you. Very impressive."

"Your brother?" Traynor asked, slightly confused. Then it suddenly hit her. Now she suddenly realised who she was talking to.

"Commander Sarah Jane Shepard. A pleasure, Samantha." said Sarah, trying her best not to laugh at Traynor's reaction.

Traynor immediately dropped all her datapads again and practically flung her arm up in salute.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am! I didn't know it was you!" she said quickly, fearful that Sarah might scold her any minute for ignoring protocol. To her surprise though, Sarah did completely the opposite.

"Oh put your hand down! There's no need for that." she said.

Traynor very slowly lowered her hand, still a bit surprised at Sarah being nice, not to mentioned that she still couldn't believe she was speaking to the sister of THE Major Shepard. She was very different than what Traynor had expected. Most especially, Sarah's scarlet red hair was a surprise for her.

"So... er, how's your first day been?" Sarah asked.

Although she wasn't showing it, something about this woman that made her feel strange. This was a curious thing for her since she'd been with many women before. Why did this one feel different? Why did she make her feel more... happy?

"Great, actually. Everybody's been very nice. Plus, your brother's wedding was great to attend. Must be nice to have an Asari as a sister in law." said Samantha.

"Yes. It is." said Sarah.

As if drawn in by nature, Sarah's hand moved towards that of Samantha's without her being aware, holding it tenderly. Samantha did not notice either as her own smooth and dainty fingers automatically interlaced with Sarah's.

For the next few hours, the two new friends spent the last remaining hours of the day talking about everything that came to mind, perfectly at ease in each other's company.

"So you still haven't made up your mind yet?" Traynor asked.

"No. It's a hard decision. I like the idea of fighting alongside Helldivers, especially my own brother and my sister in law. But at the same time, I miss hanging out with the other N7 soldiers." said Sarah.

"I heard you were often part of the Special Forces. That's amazing!" Said Traynor.

Sarah did her best not to blush at this. A trait she shared with her brother was being surprisingly good at acting. That also meant they could hide their emotions well if need be. In this case, Sarah was managing to hide the hundreds of thoughts and emotions that were going through her head. She felt somehow more alive around Traynor. But that made her nervous. She was bisexual, but she no idea whether this woman went the same way, or was at least a lesbian. There was no way she was going to ask. Not only was it an extremely awkward thing to bring up in a conversation, but it could easily make Samantha think the wrong thing about her, plus it might even disgust her that the N7 marine was interested in her.

Secretly, Traynor was also having the exact same thoughts. Hers however were slightly more nervous. This was the sister of The Major Shepard. He could easily kick her off the ship is she tried to fraternize with Sarah. Not to mention that the Commander was way out of her league. Plus, what if Sarah was disgusted by her? What if she found the idea of a lesbian being attracted to her horrible? The thought of rejection made her so frightened, even more so was the fact that Sarah might leave. What if she did? What if they never saw each other again?!

Their friendly conversation continued long into the night until they finally noticed the time. If they didn't get some sleep soon, they'd both be wrecks in the morning.

When they did finally leave each other at the end of the day... they let go of each other's hand.

"It was great to meet you, Samantha." Sarah smiled, just hiding the fact that she wanted Samantha to stay. She'd practically got a new best friend in just a few hours.

"You as well, Commander." Samantha smiled.

"Sam, please... call me Sarah. We're friends, aren't we?" said Sarah.

"Of course, Co... er, Sarah." said Traynor, smiling slightly.

A sudden inexplicable ache caused them both to stumble a bit. After they left each other's sight, both couldn't help but replay every wonderful moment in their head. Then they each noticed that their hand feels as cold as ice, as if the very blood had been chilled. An image of their hand seeking warmth again with the other's hand passed through their minds, and in that thunderbolt of realization...

"Was I... oh god, was I holding her hand?!"

* * *

**There you go. I will continue writing while I am on holiday next week. So chances are the next chapter (the honeymoon chapter) will be up when I get back.**

**In the meantime, hope you enjoyed this, and I hope to see you soon.**

**Farewell** **for now, but fear not. I shall return!**


	42. Chapter 42, Across the Stars

**HELLO ALL!**

**As a well loved machine once said "I'm back."**

**Been quite a week. And of course I used the time very well. In fact I made even more progress than I thought. I finished ME2.**

**I'll upload the final chapter very soon. I want to at least let this one get read enough times and get reviews.**

**I'm surprised that this one is only 6,000 words though. I'd thought it was a bit more than thought.**

**Still, I'm happy with how it turned it out.**

* * *

**Quick thing also, there's now another Helldiver fic out there.**

**A friend of mine, darksider45 has been doing a Dragon Age themed Helldiver fic. I'd definitely recommend you check it out. It's very good. It has the same Shepard as mine, but that's it.**

**Coincidently enough, I just remembered that both the Male and female Hawke have English accents, maybe not British, but still...**

**So if there are any people who may be having a bit of trouble imagining my Shepard's voice, try to think of him sounding like the male Hawke. Sarah could sound the female one, but why replace Jennifer Hale's voice? Besides, Sarah can always sound like Bastilla Shan since Hale voice her too, and with an English accent.**

* * *

**Enjoy! It's good to be back.**

* * *

**Chapter 42**

**Across the Stars**

Liara gently opened her eyes as she woke from sleep. She felt a small pleasure in her Azure and smiled when she remembered that her husband's member was still inside her.

Although they'd woken up together many times before, this time it felt even better than before. It was difficult to describe in word show wonderful and ecstatic Liara felt at the mere thought of waking up in her new husband's arms from now on.

It enticed her greatly for a bit of tasty morning sex, just like Alaara after marriage now. She reckoned they'd be doing it quite often, just like them.

Realizing that Austin still hadn't woken up yet himself, a cheeky thought crept into Liara's mind. She could think of a pretty nice way to wake him up. The Asari did her best not to sigh too loudly as she gently slid off her husband's shaft and then positioned herself so her mouth was hovering right above it. Strangely enough, it was still semi-hard.

Taking the member gently into her mouth, Liara started licking and sucking on the top. The base, she stroked with her hand to get him harder quicker. Sure enough, it worked and Austin's cock soon became hard again.

Liara couldn't help but giggle slightly as he heard the light moans that Austin was making from the treatment she was giving his shaft. Within just a few minutes, Liara felt his shaft jerk, and he came in her mouth. That seemed to wake him up, and the Helldiver slowly opened his eyes. He gave a small yawn in the process.

"Morning, sweetheart." he smiled. "How do you feel?"

"Full, and not just in a sexual way. I feel as though I've finally found my place as your new wife." said Liara. She let go of Austin's member as it once again started softening and snuggled on top of him.

"I feel the same." said Austin as he and Liara kissed.

"So, what are we gonna do for our honeymoon?" Liara asked.

"Well, I've got a few ideas..." said Austin. "Rome on Earth and the beaches, maybe explore a city planet, take a cruise... whatever you like."

"Spoilt for choice." said Liara. Then the Asari had a very adventurous idea. "Why don't we do all of them? You know, get out, and really see the galaxy..."

Austin was taken aback by this, but pleasantly so. It hadn't occurred to him that they could do all those things if they wished.

* * *

Sarah gently woke up.

The N7 marine had just had a very nice dream of her spending time with Traynor, eating at a certain sushi restaurant she saw on the Citadel.

As Sarah flung her bed covers aside, revealing her red underwear that she often slept in, she couldn't help but think about Samantha. She definitely smiled at the fact she had the comm specialist as such a wonderful friend. She was very nice looking, smart, occasionally funny, she liked her new assignment aboard the Normandy, what was there not to like?

At the same time however, Sarah felt something deep in her heart constricting a little at the thought. There was something else about the woman that she couldn't put her finger on. In some ways, she almost felt as though she wanted to see Samantha as more than just as a good friend. Still, now was not the proper time to dwell on this. With her brother and new sister in law leaving for their honeymoon soon, chances are they'd at least want to say farewell to everyone. Sarah still hadn't yet made up her mind on whether she wanted to stay on the Normandy indefinitely, but she had to admit that after yesterday she was starting to lean a bit more in the direction of staying. Putting all thoughts about her little dream aside, Sarah started getting dressed and ready to go off to her ship duties.

* * *

Traynor was stirring comfortably in her own bed (and also sleeps in her underwear).

When the comm specialist finally did wake up, it was hard to describe how depressed she felt having realized that the dream she had just had of her with Sarah was just a dream and not real. She'd really grown to like the Commander in the brief time she'd spent with her last night. It was nice though at least to get a best friend on her very first day, and a very beautiful one at that.

After blissfully reminiscing in the wonderful time she actually did spend with Sarah, she started thinking about Sarah's lovely red dress and it how greatly accentuated her magnificent fig-

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" she chastised herself.

She couldn't think that way about her superior officer! Forcing her mind back to now, she started getting dressed, pulling her uniform over the underwear that she often slept in, and prepared to report for today's work. She idly remembered one other thing about her dream

"Dream or not, that was the best sushi I've ever had."

* * *

Naturally of course, both Austin and Liara had made sure to say goodbye to everyone before they left. As to be expected, Alaara was now in charge until the Major and his wife returned. Joker had even said that it would be weird piloting the Normandy without its true captain and taking order from Alaara instead, but had promised that he would act no differently than if Austin was still in command.

Since Austin had more than enough money to pay for the many trips they planned to take to the many different locations, they didn't need to worry too much about the prices of shuttles. Still, they wanted to be sure they didn't spend too much. Some of that money would possibly be needed for far more important things, like most likely funding the war when the Reapers finally arrived.

They'd rather avoid attention so they'd both agreed to simply stick to casual class, and not go on luxurious first class flights. After all, they only truly needed each other to have the time of their lives.

As they entered the terminals, they began looking over the many shuttle flights there were. They now had to decide where they wanted to go first. There were only so many shuttles going to certain places, so there were definitely some locations they'd have to go to from another place.

Currently, the ones on their list that were being displayed were Earth, Thessia, Illium (or Teskarra if they were in the mood for some adventure) and the so called paradise world, Currdmar. Elysium was on the couple's list as well, but there wasn't a shuttle heading for there until tomorrow.

"Any suggestions?" Austin asked.

"I honestly don't know." Liara chuckled. "So many choices on where to go first."

"We can definitely visit them all, that's for sure." Said Austin reassuringly.

The couple spent another minute or so deciding before an idea came to Austin.

"Why don't we select one of the destinations that you've never been to before?" he suggested.

"That's a good idea." Liara agreed.

"Shall we settle for Earth then? Take my word for it, there's so many places on that planet alone to visit." Austin asked.

"Sure. Be interesting to see were you first came from." Said Liara.

"I'm a spacer, remember? I wasn't born on Earth." Austin corrected.

"Oh yes. How could I forget?" said Liara.

The two spent most of the journey simply using their union to relax while holding hands. Fortunately, no one had yet ran up to them and asked for their autograph, so it looked like they were definitely keeping a low profile.

Their first place to visit was Rome since Austin had been there once with his family and Alpha t some point and had assured Liara it was an ideal place to visit for a honeymoon. The hotel room they were staying in was very nice. In fact, Liara almost thought they somehow gone back into their home on Thessia.

Ever since Austin had started seeing Liara 3 years ago (soon to be 4 years in a few days) they'd both agreed that the house on Thessia that Benezia had left to her daughter would be their home. Austin had practically stayed there with Liara all the time that they'd been on Thessia until returning to the Normandy and…

Liara though quickly stopped herself there before her mind got to the point where the Normandy had been attacked and the love of her life had been killed. She preferred instead to use the Asari tradition of cherishing every moment spent with a bond mate.

Wasting no time, the two simply put their luggage in the room and went out to explore.

Despite the many years that Rome had been standing, it still had the same beauty that people expected of it. The ruins, the scenery, it was all still here.

"So this city used to belong to your people's ancestors?" Liara asked as they walked through the streets. She'd practically gone back to her shy archaeologist personality being here and instantly wanted to know more about it and maybe about humans.

"Yes. The Romans are always talked of being very advanced during their time. You could even say they like the Arkanes and the Protheans." Said Austin.

"Fascinating. The architecture of some of the buildings is… I don't' even know a word to describe it." Said Liara.

"I know what you mean." Austin agreed. "Still, if you think this is great, wait till you see the Coliseum."

True enough, Liara had almost fainted at the sight of the massive coliseum. She'd even said that this very nearly put Prothean ruins to shame.

* * *

For the first time in her career, Traynor couldn't focus on her work One thing was constantly on her mind, Sarah.

Secretly of course, Sarah was actually interested in her, but Samantha had no clue. It was like she was a little girl again dealing with an overwhelming high school crush on someone light years out of her league.

She hadn't actually been with that many other women before. In fact, the number of intimate relationships she'd had could be counted on one hand. More importantly, she hadn't been with anyone since her days at the Helldiver academy and at Oxford. Military life, even if you're not a soldier, can really put a strain on relationships. And where she'd attended College there. Traynor was quite the workaholic, so she'd never tried to pursue anyone else after her academy days. Even back then, she'd only pursued girls that were still "in her league." Never to those that were out of it. Truthfully, she hadn't been that interested. Her shyness was a factor, but it was mostly because she was content with those on her own level. She still admired the prettier and more attractive girls, but was still, only content.

And now she had an unbearable crush on someone who's natural beauty as well as curves easily puts those to shame, outclassing them by hundreds of light years. Legs, hips, waist, chest, skin, face, hair or eyes; take your pick, as just one of those features from Sarah was something that any women would kill for.

Traynor, on the other hand, from how she saw herself when compared to Sarah, was just a petty and impish girl from Horizon, who couldn't even afford the most basic and rudimentary of gene therapy treatments! She was walking genetic defect!

" _My body is just a useless thing I lug to carry my mind around!"_ she thought to herself.

* * *

The plan that Austin and Liara had agreed to was that they would spend two weeks in each location before moving on to the next one.

Rome had practically been like candy land for Liara. She'd bens so interested in learning more that she'd managed to persuade Austin through several union induced sexual images to pay a visit to the library. It was surprising, but very nice to see Liara's old bookworm self come out.

Austin meanwhile had used to the spare time he had to make bookings at the other hotels they would staying in during their honeymoon and also the shuttle trips. He eventually decided that as a small treat, their last two trips, which would take them to their last planned location and then finally back home to the Normandy, would be first class ones.

Since they planned to leave Rome for their next destination tomorrow morning, Austin had also used the time to book a romantic evening at a restaurant. So far, they'd never had the chance to have a romantic dinner together so it would hopefully be a nice new experience for them both.

The married couple took their seats at the table Austin had booked as the sun set over the beautiful city of Rome.

"Took me nearly the entire two weeks to get a reservation here, and I had to tell them I'm a Helldiver and that I work for the government. Hope it was worth it." Said Austin.

"I'm sure it will be, Austin." Liara smiled.

"Right, what will we get?"

They went over the menu and ordered their meals.

* * *

Two weeks it had been now. So far, it had been rather quiet and they hadn't had any assignments. Alaara also seemed to be finding the job of being in command very easy. After all, it wasn't like she hadn't been in command before.

During this time, Sarah had only felt a little bit embarrassed when she kept thinking about how she held Samantha's hand all day when they first met. Mostly though, she felt intrigued now. The N7 marine definitely could not deny that she was quickly starting to grow feelings for the lovely and painfully adorable specialist.

Traynor had recently requested a day off, saying that she wasn't feeling well. Although she wasn't ill or anything, it was still partly true. Her mind was constantly abuse with thoughts about Sarah. She wanted to tell the Commander how she felt, but a large bit of her was holding her back. She was the more sympathetic one. Whereas Sarah was quite confident and only a tiny bit embarrassed, Traynor is practically mortified. Part of her wanted to flush herself out the airlock before she did anything else inappropriate. It had only gotten worse when she realized that she was slowly but surely falling for the impossibly beautiful woman. It was overwhelming for the poor girl, too much for her to handle.

To Samantha, not only was Sarah thousands of light-years out of her league, but she was also a superior officer! AND she was the sister of none other than Major bloody Shepard! How could she possibly ever have even the remotest of remote chances with her?

Even if Sarah was even interested in other women, she would never choose someone like her. How could she, when there was CLEARLY no shortage of attractive women onboard the Normandy, while she no doubt bored everyone she met to death with her senseless tech talk. It was ridiculous, almost painfully comical to even think that Sarah would choose a timid, bookish comm specialist over someone brave, confident and far more exciting.

* * *

Although Austin and Liara had left Rome, they were still on Earth. Just before they'd been due to leave, he'd had an idea that perhaps they could go for a private cruise. Liara had liked the idea, so they'd made a huge change into their schedule. True Austin now had to rearrange the bookings he'd made, but it was not a huge problem.

Liara was sat on the deck of the boat in a deck chair, wearing a white bikini and reading a book. Austin meanwhile was swimming.

Admittedly, Liara was finding it very difficult to keep her eyes on her book while her husband was done there swimming. She'd said she'd be happy to join later, but for now just wanted to enjoy the sun. As it turned it, Asari could get sun burns as well, and so Liara had needed sun cream as well.

Austin of course had been more than happy to oblige and had given Liara a nice little massage while applying the lotion to her body.

She tried once again to read another page, but once again found herself distracted by Austin's muscular chest.

She then heard the sound of more splashing and then wet footsteps as Austin climbed up the ladder and onto the deck. Liara couldn't help but lick her lips slightly at the sight of her husband's muscular chest dripping wet.

"That is very refreshing." Austin panted as he began towelling himself.

"This was a great idea you had, Austin. I almost wish we could stay like this. Just spend the rest of our lives floating her in the middle of nowhere." Liara smiled.

The Asari decided to put her book away. She ultimately gave up trying to read it, feeling that she was going to spending a lot more time out in the sun doing something more exciting.

"If we did that though, what would stop the temptation of having those little blue children?" Austin smiled, giving a small wink at Liara.

"True." Liara replied.

She then got up and took one of the ice cubes from the champagne tub they had on deck and rubbed the ice over her body. The sight of that got Austin quite aroused.

"That hot is it?" he asked.

"Yes. Thank the Goddess I have this sun cream on, or I'd be red." Said Liara.

"That'd be new. The first red Asari." Said Austin.

Liara simply giggled and used another ice cube on her skin. For Austin, this was torture and he took his wife into his arms and kissed her.

"I love you so much, Liara." He smiled.

"I love you too." Said Liara.

"Now why don't we take these things off and give those seagulls something to really squawk about?" Austin asked suggestively.

To the Helldivers surprise, Liara was ahead of him on that one and she instantly pulled his trunks off, exposing his semi hard member.

"I have a surprise for you, my love." Liara smiled.

The Asari walked up to the edge of her ship and activated her omni tool. Austin mouth dropped open at what happened next.

During the private time she'd had ever since she'd been married to Austin, she'd been examining the strange device that Aethyta had given to them as a wedding present. After a bit of study, she'd finally figured it out.

It was a special modified tech armour that was capable of mimicking the appearance of pretty much any clothing. In this case, Liara was using it to display her swimsuit. Since the warp field from it was still solid, she didn't feel cold from the air, but it was still as light as a feather. Then, by reducing the strength and intensity of the field, there was no danger of it detonating somehow and causing damage. But above all, with a weakened field, all Liara needed to do to 'detonate' it would be to apply a light biotic warp of her own to dissolve the image, and by simply reactivating the warp field, the image could return anytime.

Austin gazed in awe as his wife's swimsuit seemed to slowly dissolve right in front of Liar until Liara was just as naked as he was, the light of the sun shining on her beautiful blue skin.

With the warp field at a weakened state, Liara didn't cause harm to herself as the image of her bikini vanished. Although admittedly, it did tickle a little when she did.

The Asari then dived off the boat and into the sea, Austin quickly followed.

This seemed so similar to what they had now come to call their first date when they'd both gone for a private naked swim together.

The two lovebirds simply floated around in each other's arms as they kissed and moved their hands of the other's naked bodies. Liara at one point even gave Austin's now very hard shaft a few good strokes and even fondled his balls a bit.

They drifted for a while before finally stopping for a minute. They'd made sure of course to not stray too far away from the boat.

"Feel like I'm in heaven." Said Liara.

"So do I." Austin smiled.

"Want to make love to me on the deck?" Liara winked.

"You don't even have to ask, my wife." Austin smiled.

They both swam back to the boat and clambered up the ladder. Liara then took the towel from Austin's deckchair and spread it on the floor. She then lay down on it, rubbing her Azure with one hand and beckoning Austin over with the finger of her other.

Austin got down on his knees and started kissing Liara as he lay on top of her. The two moaned as they felt his shaft slowly slide in. This would no doubt be fun.

By the time the couple had finished their intimate and hard lovemaking on the deck, the sun had began setting. They'd also drifted quite close to an island. In the end, Austin had suggested they drop anchor there, walk on the beach for a bit and then head back to the ship, sleep there, and then return to port the next morning.

They'd been able to drop anchor very close to land, so they didn't bother using a lifeboat to get to the shore, they'd just swum there. Even though it was sunset, they'd made sure to get dressed again. Last thing they wanted was to get caught naked. Liara had found the waves a bit unexpected, and Austin had been laughing quite hard when one of them sent her head over heals.

As the sun slowly went down and the day got darker and darker, they both walked hand in hand across the beach, enjoying the feel of the water occasionally touching their feet as they left footprints in the sand. The clouds and vistas they were seeing as they watched the sunset were really incredible. There was also hardly any wind, so it was by no means cold.

Not wanting to go too far away from their yacht, the two finally stopped and continued watching the sunset.

"In all my life, I've never felt so alive and at peace." Austin sighed.

Liara leant her face on her wife's shoulder as he put his arm around her. "Nor have I. I am truly blessed by the Goddess to have found a true love that makes me feel so…"

"I know."

When they finally did head back to the ship to their bed, it was almost completely dark. Austin was glad he'd thought ahead and left the lights on. Sleeping in a bed on a slowly moving boat with the sound of waves heard outside was definitely what they would call a perfect way to spend a honeymoon. This would be a day that they would treasure for as long as they lived. It was only made better by the fact that they had many other place visits to look forward to the next day and over the rest of the month or so.

* * *

No matter how much she pines for her, Samantha simply did not have the confidence to approach, not even the strength of will to even remain in Sarah's presence for more than half a minute before her overwhelming feelings started to break down her already fragile heart.

There had no doubt been a few where, filled with spontaneous confidence and resolve, Traynor had marched her way to Sarah's cabin, fully intending to tell her how she felt. But by the time she reaches the Commander's cabin door, her sudden confidence would vanish, only to be replaced by her usual paralyzing fear and self-doubt. Feeling wretched, worthless, and utterly disgusted by her own cowardice, she slunk back to her quarters and goes back what she was unfortunately starting to do every night: Cry herself to sleep. Ever since meeting Sarah, Samantha had shed more tears in the last few weeks than she had in her life. With every day that passed without her, she died a little bit more inside, as a piece of her heart painfully shrivelled away.

Sarah was growing a bit concerned for her friend. Samantha had lately taken quite a few days off, saying she wasn't feeling well and whenever the N7 marine had tried to chat with her, she always seemed to busy or unable to be talked to. She certainly hoped it wasn't something that she'd said or done by accident. She'd never be able to forgive herself if she'd hurt Traynor.

At that moment however, Sarah's thoughts of her friend were interrupted as the dropship suddenly touched down.

Alaara had recently received a small mission from the Arkane Council which pointed to an Eclipse base. Apparently, the Eclipse operations base had a Cerberus prisoner there who was believed to have some vital data on the pro human splinter group. The Arkanes of course did not want to waste an opportunity like this to learn more on Cerberus and so had sent Alpha to assault the base, clear out any Eclipse mercs they encountered and recover the data.

With Austin and Liara still on their honeymoon, Alaara of course was in command and so would be in charge of this mission. Sarah had also been brought along since she'd worked with Alpha plenty of times after she'd joined the N7 program.

"Spread out. Standard formation." Said Alaara as they exited the dropship.

As was standard protocol, all of them took it very stealthily. They didn't want to raise the alarm in case they had reinforcements waiting.

All of Alpha and Sarah took cover while Sandra worked on disabling any alarm systems. Normally this would be Leena's job, but since she too was on her honeymoon with Ventra, that job had now temporarily fallen to Sandra.

"I'm in. Do your work, darling." She said into her communicator.

Alaara nodded and motioned for Griffin to set a charge to blow the door open.

"Priming charge." Said Griffin.

"And try to only blow the door off this time. Shepard told me about that time on purgatory." Said Alaara.

"Funny." Griffin chuckled. "Okay, charges set. Get clear."

Everyone retreated slightly to a safe distance and Griffin readied the detonator.

"Fire in the hole!"

The explosive detonated, but the explosion was unbelievably small.

"Is that meant to happen?" Dash asked.

Griffin looked at the set of charges he'd brought with him for this mission. They were the wrong type.

"I thought I had stopped doing it." He sighed. "I mixed up my bloody explosives again!"

"Right, so what do we do now?" Alaara asked irritably.

" _Think the door can hacked. First you need to…"_

But Sandra was suddenly interrupted when Kraan suddenly smashed the door right in.

"The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get something to eat. I'm hungry!" The Krogan groaned.

The Eclipse mercs almost immediately rallied to the area. This of course was a chance for Griffin to redeem himself. While the explosives hadn't been powerful enough for the door, they were powerful enough to kill most of the mercs.

Just as the mercs rounded a corner, Griffin fired at their feet, which caused them to skid to a halt.

"Thanks for dropping by." He said.

"Dropping?"

"Bye!"

The explosives detonated and the floor fell away, taking the mercs with it. Many more mercs followed, but to Alpha, it was as easy as falling out of a dropship (which for a Helldiver was very easy).

With all of the mercs dealt with Sarah went into the interrogation room. The Cerberus prisoner of course was dead, but the intel was on a nearby terminal.

Sarah of course had no problem in giving the intel to the Helldivers. She hated Cerberus just as much as they did, especially after Shadow and her troops had killed her team on Krelldoor. At the same time though, she felt that that Alliance should see this as well. Making her mind up, Sarah made a copy of the data which she sent to the Alliance, and then sent the original to the Helldivers.

While she was doing that, Alpha was outside keeping the area secure. They started to patrol the base to make sure they got everyone.

Suddenly, to their amazement, an Eclipse Salarian suddenly appeared out of nowhere and threw a flashbang at them. Clearly he'd been waiting until they let their guard down. However, the flashbang didn't affect everyone, for the Salarian had failed to notice that Alaara had been further away from the others, and was no behind him.

Laughing a bit at the Salarian not even noticing that she was behind him, Alaara tapped him on the shoulder.

"You?!"

"Hello, Morl!"

The Asari punched Morl right in the face, sending him flying into a wall, and with a broken jaw.

"I'm glad you're on our side." Said Dash.

Just before Alpha was about to make an attempt to arrest him though, the Salarian summoned up the last of his strength and launched himself right at Alpha Squad as he pressed a button that detonated experimental explosives inside his suit as a last ditch suicide attack.

The explosion sent all of Alpha Squad flying. Sarah, hearing the explosion from the other side of the base, quickly hurried to the source of the noise. Sure enough, she found all of the team lying on the floor, groaning in pain. Very minor wounds, but just enough to warrant a visit to the Med Bay for a few hours. Sarah quickly rushed up to Griffin, who had the least injuries, and helped him up. The two then set about helping the others up onto their feet and back to the Normandy.

* * *

As is her job, Traynor was monitoring the communications. As the team was returning to the Normandy, she overheard EDI send a message to Dr. Chakwas that most of the team was wounded. The thought that Sarah might be hurt made her bolt to the elevator. The comm specialist hurried down to the Engineering level to look through that large window overlooking the Shuttle Bay, as she would have embarrassed herself if she went down to the Shuttle Bay itself. She nearly fainted from the overwhelming relief she felt when she saw that Sarah didn't have a drop of blood on her and still looked as perfect as ever, even when coming out of combat. As the rest of the team was taken to the Med Bay for Chakwas to look them over, Sarah now had to stay in the Shuttle Bay to put away the team's armour and weapons which they had all taken off.

Traynor was about get back to her station when she suddenly noticed through the window that Sarah was taking off her own armour. (Not down to her red underwear obviously, just her underclothes, such as shorts and her tank-top... though they still revealed some skin). Traynor was rooted to the spot. The sight of Sarah undressing started to stir something in the specialist. Despite the loose-fitting of the underclothes, Sarah's well-formed body still made it look unbelievably sexy. Sarah of course still has no clue she was being watched, though she wouldn't mind if she knew who was doing the watching.

Traynor marvelled at Sarah showing considerably more skin than she'd seen before and found it surprisingly difficult to tear her eyes away. Sarah started to inspect the guns. The sight of the way her hands slowly running over and manipulated their frame so effortlessly made Traynor's legs threaten to fail her. Finally, as Sarah finished her work, she relieved some tension in her muscles by standing up straight... and arched up into a stretch, bringing the swell of her chest into full prominence under the loose t-shirt.

Traynor finally couldn't take it anymore and bolted for the elevator to get back to work. Sadly, as it had been for a long time now, she just couldn't' concentrate enough. Her thoughts just keep going back to thoughts of Sarah's body.

 _"Alright alright alright, focus now. All systems are green, no sign of sag just like Sarah's bre- LAG! I meant LAG! Just focus, will you?! You need to make sure that everything's running smoothly, as smooth as Sarah's soft, creamy and flawless skin and- STOP IT!"_ she thought to herself.

Despite this though, more and more thoughts of Sarah's body kept going into Samantha's head. Guessing how smooth her legs might be, what her hair might feel like in her hands and what her lips might taste like on hers.

Traynor finally accepted defeat and did something that; once again, she'd never done before in her entire career: She took a break. She finally just gave into her desires, hoping that after letting them out, she might be able to focus on her work. First though, she wondered how she should even dare admire Sarah in this way, when she herself had no chance? Her own body was nothing special (in her eyes for now), and shamefully remembered how the backpack she arrived with contained, other than a spare uniform, a whole assembly of cosmetic and beauty supplies. Sarah, on the other, didn't need any at all, with her natural beauty. Her analytical mind went into overdrive, as she went over each detail that she could think about Sarah. Traynor started to think about each appealing aspect of Sarah's body.

1\. Sarah's flawless and creamy skin. She could only imagine how smooth I must feel, what it would be like for her to stroke it with her hands. Just the mere thought of it made Samantha shudder.

2\. Sexy, long legs. There was no denying that Sarah had very nice legs that were just right. Traynor once again could only imagine what they must feel like combined with her skin.

3\. Divine hips. This was definitely something that Traynor had trouble not staring at. Sometimes, she even envied Sarah for having hips like that. Normally, only supermodels had hips that good.

4\. Impossible hourglass waistline. Traynor found that a bit more easier to picture and had to keep a hold of herself so that she didn't get lost in her thoughts of sliding her hands up and down that beautiful model of perfection.

5\. Perfectly smooth and toned abdomen. For Traynor, it was easier to imagine touching that and making Sarah laugh due to her ticklish.

6\. Sarah's chest. Even Miss Lawson and Captain T'onrak had some competition when it came to breast size. Traynor did her best though not to imagine what they must look like uncovered though. If she got too aroused now and started touching herself, she might never finish, ever.

7\. Hair that likely didn't even need any shampoo or conditioner. That was definitely one of the N7 marine's most beautiful features. There were hardly any redheads at all, so that alone only made Sarah seem all that more special.

8\. Striking eyes that never fail to reduce Traynor to a smouldering puddle. Traynor could also could not get over how beautiful the Commander's eyes were. A mere look at them felt like looking into a beautiful abyss that would forever bring her nothing but bliss.

By this point, just merely thinking of Sarah like this has made her more aroused than she ever had been in her life.

9\. And finally, her radiant smile and gorgeous lips. There was no denying that Traynor almost longed to feel those lips on her skin. Even just one kiss might make her faint.

Traynor began to imagine a mental image with blossoming joy of Sarah slowly leaning towards her as those lips slowly descend towards her own... contact... the mere imaginary sensation, on top of all her previously arousing thoughts, caused Traynor to climax with the most amazing and fulfilling orgasm in her entire life. After squirming in her post-orgasmic bliss, she went through some depression

She realized thought that despite it, all her clothes were still on. No woman had ever made her orgasm just by THINKING ABOUT HER. How could Sarah affect her like this? Finally, she was forced to admit it.

"I never believed I would've done what I did yesterday. I feel like something important has happened to me. Is this possible? I have spoken to her only once, and yet... I have fallen in love with Commander Sarah Shepard."

* * *

**A very huge thank you to Mastermind4892 for the huge help he provided with this chapter! :) He's so looked forward to the Sarah/Traynor pairing.**

**43 will be the final chapter for ME2. AS you can probably guess, that will mostly cover the events of Arrival. It includes 2 extras though. One I think you can guess, and the other is brand new idea I had while I was on holiday. You might not have noticed, but there's actually one small DLC I haven't done yet.**

**I'm looking forward to starting ME3. I'm hoping it will the best one in this trilogy. Bioware did let us down a bit unfortunately, but I promise I won't. I've come too far to fail now!**


	43. Chapter 43, The Arrival

**So... this is it... the final chapter.**

**All that's left now is ME3. Let me tell you, that is gonna be one "hell" of a ride!**

**A huge thanks to so many of my fans who've been reading and reviewing my story. Can't tell you how much it's meant to me and I look forward to you joining me on the next adventure as well.**

**I will confess, there is a bit of cheating in here form time to time, so the action scenes are bit... simple. Pretty sure though the story changes, the love scene, ending, and even the post credits ending should make up for it.**

* * *

**Chapter 43**

**The Arrival**

1 month it had been now.

Austin and Liara had finally returned from their honeymoon and had easily settled back in to their place on the Normandy.

Austin was currently up in his quarters checking all the messages he'd received while he was away. There were only a few messages he didn't need. All the rest were from the rest of the team and a few other close friends wishing him and Liara a happy return after their honeymoon.

As he finished sorting all the messages, a thought occurred to him. Although Traynor had probably had plenty of time to settle in properly on the Normandy by now, she hadn't had time to really get to know him.

"Traynor, if you're not doing anything, I've got a few hours free. Would you like to come up?" he asked into his comm.

"Your cabin is gorgeous. I've seen apartments smaller than this." Said Traynor as she admired Austin and Liara's quarters. "Well, Major… ready to play?"

"Play?" Austin asked, confused.

"I picked up a chessboard on Arkadia. GUI interface- not nearly as nice as real pieces, but this takes up less space. So… interested?" said Traynor.

"This is a trap, isn't it?" Austin chuckled.

"I'm just a simple comm specialist, Major. I'm sure your real-world expertise and experience in the field will give you the edge." Said Traynor innocently.

* * *

Traynor made the finishing move easily and Austin soon found his king cornered.

"Ha!"

"Dammit!" Austin sighed. "Well done, Traynor. You win."

"My word, Major. It's almost as though you wanted to spare your pawns the indignity of living under my regime." Said Traynor smugly.

"In real life, that tactic would have worked." Austin argued.

"Well, in real life, one doesn't move on an eight-by-eight square grid." Said Traynor.

"You know what I mean. The pawns are infantry. A good infantry line, like the Krogan, can take a charge like that." Said Austin.

"That reminds me of a joke: What's the difference between Major Shepard and a Krogan?" Traynor asked.

"A joke about me? This ought to be interesting. What is the difference?" Austin inquired.

"One is an unstoppable juggernaut of head-butting destruction…" Traynor started.

"…and the other doesn't have a smart-ass comm officer to keep him in line." Austin finished.

"Ooh, that's even better than the number-of-testicles punch line." Traynor laughed.

"You're not the only one with a British sense of humour." Austin smiled.

"So I noticed. So… rematch?" Traynor asked.

"Sure."

* * *

Much later, after Austin had still lost to his new comm specialist, Austin headed down to the CIC to pick a destination. He currently didn't know yet what he was gonna do, but he certainly planned to try and get the word out about the Reapers and help the whole galaxy prepare for them in some way. Just as he stepped up however, Traynor spoke.

"Major, you have an incoming message from Admiral Steven Hackett, Alliance HQ." she said.

" _Major Shepard. I need to discuss a sensitive matter with you privately."_ He heard Hackett's voice say.

"I'll take this in my quarters." Said Austin.

Austin headed up to his quarters and activated the terminal. An almost lifelike, full colour hologram of Hackett was projected in front of him.

" _Major. Thank you for your time. First off, it's good to finally hear from you again. We've all heard about your victory against the Collectors."_ Said the Admiral.

"Thank you, Hackett." Austin nodded.

" _Anyway, I'll cut to the chase and keep it brief."_ Said Hackett. _"We have a deep-cover operative out in Batarian space. Name's Doctor Amanda Kenson. Dr Kenson recently reported that she found evidence of an imminent Reaper invasion."_

"So why call me? Remember I'm no longer in the Alliance now." Austin asked.

" _Just this morning I received word that the Batarians arrested her. They're holding her in a secret prison outpost on terrorism charges. I need you to infiltrate the prison and get her out of there. As a favour to me. I'm asking you to go in alone."_ Said Hackett.

"I have Alpha with me. They'll be able to help with this." Said Austin.

" _Kenson is my friend. If the Batarians see a squad of armed soldiers they'll kill her. This is serious, Major. Go in with discretion, or don't go at all."_ Said Hackett.

"Since you've asked nicely, Hackett, I'll get it sorted. If this does concern the Reapers, you were right to call me." Said Austin.

" _The prison is hidden underground at a Batarian outpost on Aratcht. I'll upload the coordinates now. Once she's secure, confirm her discovery."_ Said Hackett.

"Got it."

_"Hackett out."_

* * *

All of Alpha had naturally recovered from the light injuries they'd received during the Eclipse raid. Despite that Hackett had told Austin to go in alone, the Helldiver had decided against it.

"You do realise you're going against Hackett's orders by bringing us, don't you?" Sandra asked.

"He didn't order me, he asked me. Besides, there's nothing he can do anyway since I'm not in the Alliance." Said Austin.

After spending almost a month without using his armour, it felt quite nice to be inside it again. The cape, the Blood Dragon logo, Excalibur, he'd missed it.

"Still doesn't explain why you're taking us with you. You'd do just as well on your own." Said Griffin.

"Hackett doesn't know you like I do. Besides, this isn't the first Batarian base we've infiltrated and we've all got into a lot of places more heavily guarded than this, most of them without firing a single shot." Said Austin.

Some of Alpha squad nodded at this and nudged each other.

"Now that, I do agree with. We'll have this doctor out of here before the Batarians can say "intruder alert". This'll be easy." Said Dash.

"Why would you say that, Dash?! Now you know it won't be!" said Ventra.

Ventra and Leena of course had also returned from their honeymoon. They'd mostly spent their time on Palaven since they couldn't visit Rannoch. They too felt quite pleased to be back again.

In a way, it was great catching up with everyone. They were like a bunch of bad boarding school boys who'd got back together again.

"Okay, everyone. You know the drill. Cloak on at all times. Stay out of sight, and avoid water." Said Austin as the drop ship door opened. The very second the doors opened however, he found themselves looking at a lot of rain.

"Oh crap." Said Ventra.

"That might be a problem, sir." Said Griffin.

"Shit!" Austin swore. "Guess we're gonna have to do this the old fashioned way. If we're lucky, it'll be dry inside."

* * *

Alpha took it very slowly through the base. Naturally of course, they did have to deal with some Batarian guards, but they did it nice and quietly. As Austin had said it was also dry inside, so they were able to use their cloaks to mostly stay out of sight.

When they finally reached Kenson's cell, taking out her guard was easy. As Alpha secured the area, Austin worked on getting the doctor free of her restraints.

"Who are you? What are you doing?" she asked.

"Relax, Dr Kenson. We're here to get you out. We're friends of Admiral Hackett." Said Austin.

"Hackett must have got my message." Said Kenson.

"The evidence you have better be worth it. Wasn't easy getting in here, and we risk some difficult diplomatic incidents if this doesn't go right." Said Austin, finally deactivating the clamps and freeing Kenson.

"It is. The Reapers are coming. Diplomacy is the least of our worries." Said Kenson.

At that moment, the alarm sounded. Batarian reinforcements were converging on their location.

"What? I didn't do it." Said Dash innocently.

"If we can find a console, I can hack security… make us an escape path." Said Kenson as she took a pistol from the Batarian guard.

"Then we'll find one."

"Ready."

Alpha naturally did what Helldivers did best, fight Batarians. They pretty much carved a path through any Batarians that got in their way. When they finally hacked security and got to a shuttle and left the base, it was completely deserted and devoid of Batarians.

"Engaging autopilot." Said Kenson. "We should be well out of range before they get their security measures unscrambled."

"Will they come after you?" Griffin asked.

"I'm not taking any chances. Batarians don't take kindly to humans who plan to destroy their mass relays." Said Kenson.

"What?!"

"Well, to be fair, that's only half the story." Kenson explained. "My people and I were here investigating rumours of Reaper technology out in the fringes of this system."

"I guess you found something." Said Liara.

"We found proof the Reapers will be arriving in this system. When they get here, they'll use its mass relay to travel throughout the galaxy. We call it the "Alpha Relay." From here, the Reapers can invade anywhere in the galaxy." Said Kenson.

"So you've decided to destroy it." Said Kraan.

"Exactly. Doing that would stop the Reapers' invasion. Even at FTL speeds, it'd be months or years before they got to the next relay. We came up with what we just called "the Project": a plan to launch a nearby asteroid into the relay and destroy it before the Reapers could arrive." Kenson continued. "Of course, the resulting explosion would probably wipe out the system."

"Why's that?" Liara asked.

"Mass relays are the most powerful mass-effect engines in the known galaxy. The energy released from a relay's destruction would probably resemble a supernova. This is a remote system, but just over three hundred thousand Batarians live on the colony where they held us. The explosion would undoubtedly kill them all." Said Kenson.

"Good. Maybe that will finally teach them a lesson and they'll stop treating humans like slaves." Said Griffin.

"You don't get it, Griffin. These Batarians aren't like the slavers we fight against. There are two factions of their race: the slavers, and the normal ones. The normal ones hate humans just as much as the slavers, but they deal with it maturely like they should. They don't resort to terrorism. Killing them is not the same as killing slavers. They're innocent, they've done nothing wrong." Said Austin.

"Can't believe I didn't see that before." Said Griffin.

"I don't blame you for thinking that way. The normal ones may not seek hostilities with humans, but they don't try to end the slavery and terrorism either when they should." Said Dash.

"But you're still right. That's no excuse for wiping out an entire system of them." Said Griffin.

"I still don't see how you learned about this supposed invasion." Said Austin.

"The evidence came from what we call Object Rho, a Reaper artefact we discovered among the asteroids near the relay itself. When we get back to Arcturus Station, I'll explain everything and provide copies of all our notes on the artefact." Said Kenson.

"Wait, if you're working near a Reaper artefact, how have you avoided indoctrination?" Austin asked, suspiciously.

"We've been careful. We know what we're dealing with. You're not speaking to a child, Helldiver. I saw what Sovereign did at the Citadel. Trust me – I know what's at stake." Said Kenson.

"The stakes are high. If you were willing to destroy a whole system over this, I want to see your proof." Said Austin.

"I guess I can't argue with that. Give me a moment." Said Kenson. "Kenson to project base."

" _Good to hear your voice, Doctor. You coming home?"_ Austin overheard form her earpiece.

"Affirmative. And I've got Helldivers with me. Tidy up the lab. They need to confirm the artefact." Said Kenson.

" _Right. I'll get everything set up for your arrival. Project base out."_

"All set. Just sit back and relax. We'll be there in no time."

* * *

The Batarian shuttle touched down and everyone stepped out.

"Here we are. Welcome to Project Base." Said Kenson.

"What's this?" Austin asked, indicating to a timer overhead.

"That's our countdown to Arrival. When that gets to zero… the Reapers will have come. Just over a few hours. Puts things in perspective, doesn't it?" said Kenson.

"You're saying the Reapers will be here in just a few hours? There's no time to waste!" said Austin urgently.

"Then let's show you that proof. That door exits the hangar. The artefact is in our central lab area." Said Kenson.

Austin couldn't help but feel as though something was wrong. The entire base personal seemed very quiet. Too quiet in fact. He was pretty sure that Alpha felt that exact same way as well.

"We have to get the Project running again. It's probably the only chance we have." Said Austin.

"One sec. Let me get the door." Said Kenson.

The door opened and a large artefact that was definitely of Reaper make was revealed.

"Major Shepard, I give you Object Rho." Said Kenson proudly.

Austin however was not feeling the same. The artefact had no barriers or clamps or anything. There was nothing to stop this entire base being indoctrinated.

"You have the Reaper artefact just sitting here… out in the open!"

"When we found it, it showed me a vision of the Reapers' arrival." Said Kenson.

"Kenson, this is not good."

"Give it a moment, Shepard. It'll give you the proof you need."

Sure enough, all of Alpha Squad felt a strange energy engulf their suits and visions of the Reapers arrival flashed in front of their eyes. The resulting shock of this disorientated them and they fell to the floor. Austin simply fell to his knees due to his strong will. He then suddenly felt the barrel of a gun touch his head.

"I can't let you start the Project, Shepard. I can't let you stop the Arrival." Said Kenson.

Austin's suspicions had been right. Kenson and everyone on this base were indoctrinated and were now the Reapers slaves. The other doors opened and the bases guards hurried into the room.

"Wasn't asking your permission, bitch!" Austin yelled as he swung around. He grabbed Kenson's wrist and disarmed her. The doctor screamed in pain as the Helldiver broke her wrist.

"Take them down!" she yelled as she fled the room, leaving Alpha to deal with the guards.

" _Don't make this difficult, Shepard!"_ Kenson yelled over the loudspeaker as Alpha took cover and fired.

" _Do not resist. Give yourself over and be spared."_ A voice boomed from Object Rho.

There was no mistaking the deep bellowing voice of Harbinger.

The Helldivers however remained focused and continued fighting. Guard after guard was sent in only to then be shot down by one of Alpha Squad.

"They won't go down!" one of the guards yelled.

" _We don't want to hurt you, Major. Lay down your weapons!"_ said Kenson.

"Go to hell!" Griffin yelled as he let his minigun loose on several guards and even one of the security cameras and loudspeakers.

" _Your galaxy is in sight. Your final days are at hand."_ Said Object Rho.

"That didn't sound like Harbinger." Said Liara.

It was true, that voice hadn't been Harbingers. It had been different, almost more… alive like.

"Now's not the time! Stay focused everyone." Said Austin as he blind fired.

The fight continued on with none of Alpha sustaining any injuries. Their shield or armour quickly sought to deflecting or absorbing anything.

"We can't keep this up much longer!"

" _This will only get worse for you, Shepard."_ Kenson yelled.

"Speak for yourself, Kenson!" Austin retorted.

" _The end of your species will come."_ Harbinger boomed through Object Rho.

"Activate the heavy mech."

Sure enough, a large Heavy mech stormed into the room. Alpha immediately took cover to avoid the heavy fire and were forced to blind fire from their position. Austin was now regretting not bringing X-5 along.

" _Patience. It's only a matter of time."_ Said Kenson.

" _Struggle if you wish. Your mind will belong to my masters."_ Said the strange voice.

The heavy mech made it slightly easier for the guards since it had Alpha pinned down. This was short lived however when Griffin suddenly through all the explosives he had at the mech's feet and Ventra shot them with an explosive arrow. The explosion destroyed the mech and killed the rest of the guards.

At that moment, the artefact suddenly charged up and released a wave.

" _You shall be the first to witness our arrival."_ Harbinger boomed.

"LOCKDOWN! NOW!" Austin yelled.

As the wave swept over them, all of Alpha Squad quickly crouched down and activated their suit's lockdown. A small white field surrounded them just before the wave from Project Rho touched them.

Austin waited for a few long seconds before he finally deactivated his lockdown and checked the area.

"Everyone okay?" he asked.

"Just about. That energy was so strong it nearly broke through the lockdown shield." Said Leena as she and the others deactivated their own lockdowns.

"Not much time. We have to get this asteroid moving and get the hell out of here." Said Austin.

Kenson was starting to sound nervous after that. She'd been certain that the wave from Object Rho would take care of them. Since it hadn't, she was now becoming paranoid to the point where she was throwing all the guards they had at them.

Despite the guards best efforts however, they hardly slowed the Helldivers down at all. Pretty soon, they reached the control which would allow them to activated the project.

" _Welcome to project control."_ Said the computer.

"Activate the Project." Said Austin.

" _Warning. Activating the Project will result in an estimated three hundred and five thousand causalities. Do you wish to continue?"_ the computer asked.

Austin did hesitate for a moment before he activated. He took no pleasure in doing this, but it had to be done, if the Reapers arrived now while the entire galaxy was completely unprepared for their arrival, this war was as good as over before it had evens started.

" _Project activated in progress. Warning: Collision with mass relay is imminent. Begin evacuation procedures."_ Said the computer.

Sandra then walked up to the control panel and started tapping away at it.

"What are you doing?" Austin asked.

"We should try to warn the Batarians at least." Said Sandra. "This is as secure as I can get."

"To all residents in the Bahak system, this is…" Austin tried to say, but Kenson suddenly cut them off.

" _Shepard! No! Do you have any idea what you've done? You leave me no choice. If we can't stop this asteroid, it must be destroyed!"_

"I'm just about ready to put an arrow through that bitch's eye socket." Said Ventra angrily.

"Computer, locate Doctor Amanda Kenson." Said Austin, also making no effort to hide his anger at Kenson.

" _Doctor Kenson is travelling to the reactor core module."_ The computer replied.

" _An eezo core meltdown should do it. Because of you, everyone on this rock will be obliterated!"_ said Kenson over the speakers.

"You had it coming, and not if I get to you first." Said Austin.

* * *

With Kenson in the core, she had as many guards as possible trying to slow the Helldivers down long enough for her to destroy the core. Of course, this hardly slowed them down at all. Pretty soon, they were in the core. Kenson was on the other side of some glass.

"Don't try to stop me, Shepard. I have to do this." She said.

"You better give up, Kenson. I don't care if you're Hackett's friend. We will kill you!" said Austin threatening.

"You're forcing my hand, Shepard. You know that." Said Kenson. "There is no escape. There's no redemption for what you've done. I will die never having seen the Reaper's blessings. And you will just die."

"Get back here, Kenson!" Austin yelled as the doctor fled out of range.

Alpha had to continue battling through even more of Kenson's guards before they finally were able to reach the reactor. Kenson was forced to accept to defeat.

"Step away from the reactor." Austin ordered, his M-76 Revenant trained on her.

"You've ruined everything! I can't hear the whispers anymore." Kenson wailed.

"Happy to disappoint you, Kenson. Turn around. Now!" the Major almost yelled.

"You've taken them away from me. I will never see the Reapers' arrival." Said Kenson, turning around, and revealing a detonator in her hand. "All you had to do was…"

But before she could finish, all of Alpha Squad suddenly emptied their weapons into her.

"All I had to do, was kill you when I had the chance." Said Austin coldly.

Despite this however, Kenson still managed to press the button and the device exploded. The resulting explosion failed to damage the core, but it still sent the Helldivers flying. After a few brief seconds, Austin and the others got up.

"Ow. I'm gonna feel that in the morning." said Austin, loosening his neck slightly.

"Get off me!" Kraan groaned as he pushed Dash off of him.

" _Warning: Collision imminent."_ Said the computer.

Austin went up to the console and once again tried to contact the Normandy.

"Joker, this is Shepard. We need pick up. Now."

" _Communication system damaged."_ Said the computer.

"For god's sake!" said Austin angrily as he banged the console.

" _Evacuation protocols in effect. All personal report to escape shuttles."_

"Where can we find an escape shuttle?"

" _Take the lift from this room to the external access. From there, proceed to the communications tower. The remaining escape shuttles will be located on the tower's landing pad."_

"We have to get to that comm tower and take a shuttle. It might be our only chance left." Said Liara.

"Move out!"

* * *

With Kenson dead, everyone else was trying to evacuate. Alpha headed out onto the landing bay through the airlock. The vacuum of space made it somewhat trickier for them to fight the guards, but they still prevailed in the end.

Sandra hurried up to the comm array and gained access to it.

"External communication open." She said. "Okay, we've got a solid link."

"Shepard to Normandy. Joker, do you read us?" Austin said again.

Before a reply could happen however, a large orange hologram of a Reaper suddenly appeared over one of the landing pads. It was Harbinger.

"Uh oh." Said Dash.

" _Shepard. You have become an annoyance. You fight against inevitability. Dust struggling against cosmic winds. This seems a victory to you. A star system sacrificed. But even now, your greatest civilizations are doomed to fall. Your leaders will beg to serve us."_ The Reaper boomed.

"Yes, people will die. Maybe we'll lose half the galaxy. Maybe more. But I will do whatever it takes to rid the galaxy of you and your kind. However "insignificant" we might be, we will fight, we will sacrifice, and we will find a way. That's what we do." Said Austin.

" _Know this as you die in vain: Your time will come. Your species will fall. And when it is over, you will stand alongside the synthetic ones. Prepare yourselves for the Arrival!"_

Harbinger's hologram once again folded up into hibernation state and faded away.

" _Major Shepard. Normandy inbound for pickup."_ Said the computer.

Sure enough, the SR3 was coming in for pickup. Austin and the rest of Alpha didn't need to be told twice.

"Let's move it, everyone! Go!"

All of the Helldivers hurried into the airlock. Once the doors were sealed Austin ran into the ridge.

"Get us out of here, Joker! Now!"

The Normandy sped at full speed towards the relay. They were jettisoned forward by it with seconds to spare. From the galaxy map, Austin watched the explosion as it consumed all in its path. It was done.

* * *

"Anything?"

First thing Austin had wanted to check was that the wave from Project Rho hadn't done anything to their suits without them knowing. The lockdown had certainly protected them but it was mostly intended to protect against physical attacks. For all they knew, Rho might have left something deadly hidden inside their suits.

All of Alpha were gathered in the medbay while Dell and Dr Chakwas checked them. Dell was using a special detector device.

"Not that I can tell. All your suit's readings are normal, and I'm not picking up anything out of the ordinary. Just to be safe though, I'll run deep scans of your suits when you take them off." Said the Arkane.

At that moment, the doors suddenly opened and Hackett stepped in.

"Should we step outside?" Chakwas asked.

"I think you should." Austin sighed.

"Good luck." Said Dell sympathetically. Even he could tell this wouldn't be easy to solve.

"Hackett."

Sounds like you and your squad went through a lot down there. How are you feeling?" Hackett asked.

"Fine. Nothing out of ordinary either. Wasn't expecting to see you here, though." Said Austin.

"You went out there as a favour to me. I decided to debrief you all in person. That was before the mass relay exploded and destroyed an entire Batarian system. What the hell happened out there, Major?" Hackett asked.

Austin handed Hackett the report he'd written. Hackett went over it as Austin explained in his own words.

"Kenson said the Reapers were the galaxy's salvation. Then she tried to capture us. Didn't work of course, but still..."

"Sounds like Amanda was indoctrinated. Well. That's… a damn shame. What happened after?" Hackett asked.

"Something about the Reaper artefact she was keeping made her go insane. She didn't want to stop the invasion but somehow she ended up doing exactly that. She activated the Project thinking that it would kill us and prevent us from stopping the Reapers. We knew of course this had to be done so we didn't' try to stop her. We tried to warn the Batarians, but time ran out." Said Austin.

"I'm sure all the details are in your report." Said Hackett.

" _Austin, what are you doing? That's not what happened."_ Liara asked telepathically.

" _Just trust me on this Liara. I have to do it this way."_ Austin replied.

"I won't lie to you, Shepard: the Batarians will want blood, but they have no way of knowing who are what did this. There's risk they may blame the Alliance, and we don't want war with the Batarians. Not with the Reapers at the galaxy's edge." Said Hackett.

"What are you saying?" Alaara asked.

"I understand you did all you could, but… there were more than three hundred thousand. Batarians in that system. All dead." Said Hackett.

"You think I don't know that?!" said Austin. "We know the difference between the slavers we fight, and the innocent ones. Letting this happen brought us no pleasure.

"Besides, any sacrifice is worth stopping a Reaper invasion." Said Griffin, trying to sound supportive.

"I happen to agree. Unfortunately, not everyone will see it that way." Said Hackett.

"Cut to the chase, Hackett." Said Austin.

"Obviously there's no evidence that you or any of your team were there, but the Batarians will naturally think it was the Alliance that made this happen. I'm without options, so I'm forced to turn to you. There's a chance that you might have to take the blame for this. If not, we risk full scale war." Said Hackett.

"No!"

"What?!"

"You're not pinning this on me, or anyone!" Austin nearly shouted.

"If we don't, the Batarians will wage war. Do you not see that?! The galaxy needs to be united to face the Reapers!" Hackett retorted.

"I know that, Hackett! But there' no way I'm letting you blame me for this. We did our job! You're the one that sent us there!"

"Hard to argue with that."

"However, I don't think it'll be necessary for you to take responsibility for this. I have a better plan."

"I'm listening."

"You say there's hardly any evidence pointing to us or the Alliance being involved. I'd say that'd make it easy to create a good cover story. My friend, Xun is a very good information broker. She can create a false story saying that the blame is with Cerberus. They'd be more likely to do this anyway."

"You mean lie to them?!"

"You don't like Cerberus any more than we do, Hackett. The Batarians know fully well that Cerberus is not part of the Alliance, a multi species super soldier army fights against them, and they're often called terrorists. The blame goes to them, and a war is prevented."

"But being dishonest to them…"

"I'm not arguing with you over this, Hackett. I'm no longer part of the Alliance, so you're in no position to give me orders, especially since you and I are practically the same rank now. I'm not letting you blame us for simply doing our jobs. It's either blame Cerberus, or you, or open war. What would you prefer?"

Hackett was silent for a while before he finally replied.

"Fine. Admittedly, it would indeed be better to blame Cerberus. Maybe that way, they'll stop causing trouble and we can focus more on preparing for the Reapers." He said.

"You may not like it now, Hackett. But you'll thank me for this someday." Said Austin.

"Maybe."

Hackett left, leaving just Alpha alone with each other. Austin knew however, he wasn't quite done yet. He'd taken care of this part, but now he had another one to sort out, and this one would be a lot harder.

"Well, that went well." He said.

"You're crazy, Shepard. You just lied to an Alliance Admiral! Why?!" Dash asked in surprise.

"If I'm incarcerated, who else will there be to help prepare for the Reapers. So many people in the galaxy still don't believe us. Those Batarians would have died for nothing if the galaxy isn't' anymore prepared than it is now. I take no pleasure in lying about this, about the fact that I made the choice, but it had to be done." Said Austin.

"We're not saying we disagree with you, sir. We just wanted to know why." Said Sandra.

"Trust me, I'm sorry that all those Batarians lost their lives, but having me take the fall would only give the Reapers another step ahead of us. We stand a much better chance this way." Said Austin.

"And admittedly, that is rather clever to blame it on Cerberus. The Batarians know that they practically stand apart from humanity, so they won't seek war with the rest of us. And even if they do, the whole galaxy will fight alongside us due to the treaties." Said Ventra.

"Thought you'd say that." Said Austin. "I'm not asking you to forgive me for breaking a part of the Helldiver code. If your faith in me is shaken, I understand. I just want you to know that I had no choice."

Alpha were silent for a moment. Admittedly, it did surprise them that their leader would break a part of the code. For nearly 14 years they had known and followed his lead. This was certainly something that they never thought would happen.

"Sir, if I may…" Griffin spoke up. "I've not been in this squad as long as anyone else, nor have I known you as long. But despite this, I've come to trust you like a true leader during my time serving under you. And I think I can speak for everyone else when I say that you did the right thing but not only destroying that Relay, but also doing what you just did. Besides, we did all we could to warn them. It's no one's fault that we failed. If anything, Kenson's the one to blame."

Everyone seemed to agree with this and there were a few mumbles of agreement.

"I don't know if anyone else feels the same, but my trust in you hasn't been shaken at all, Shepard. You can trust me to keep my silence, and I will continue to fight alongside you to the very end. You're more than just a leader to me… Austin. You're my friend, and I still trust you even after this. You broke a part of the code because you had to. You did it for the right reason, and personally… I think that puts God on your side." Griffin continued, putting his hand reassuringly on Austin's shoulder.

"Thanks, Griff." Austin smiled. He did his best to hide his surprise. He had feared that Alpha would never forgive him for this. Perhaps he underestimated just how strong their bonds of friendship truly were.

"We've trusted you this far, Shepard. You have not lead us astray. Many times you have made some decisions that we have questioned at first, but have always found it was right in the end. There's no reason why that should change now." Said Sandra.

All of Alpha squad agreed with this and nodded. Austin was left lost for words for a while. Even after this long, his squad was still full of surprises.

"Thank you, all of you. You honour me with your faith and trust in me. As your leader, I couldn't' ask for anything better." He said.

"We'll keep our silence about this; even to the Arkane's themselves. You have our word on it. Right guys?" said Dash.

Everyone nodded.

"Well, since that's all sorted, I say we get back to work. We've delayed the Reapers for maybe another two years. I say we use that to its fullest advantage. Who's with me?" Austin asked, putting his hand forward.

Liara of course was the first to do the same and put her hand on her husband's.

"I am." She said.

"Me too." Said Griffin.

Both Ventra and Leena did the exact same and also added their hands to the combination.

"So am I."

"And me."

"We're all bloody in!" said Kraan.

* * *

Sarah had heard what happened down there. Being smart and knowing her brother well of course, she knew the truth. However, Austin knew that, and she had just come out of having a little chat with him. Like Alpha, she understood why her brother had done it, and why he had been forced to lie to Hackett about this. As she walked through one of the hallways, she saw Traynor walking the other way.

"Hello, Traynor." She smiled.

"Oh, hello… Sarah." Samantha nearly stuttered.

"You know, I have some free time now. I'm happy to play that round of chess if you're still interested." Said Sarah.

"Of course. Great. Err… where shall we do it? Your quarters?" Traynor asked, doing her best to hide how nervous she was. To be alone in a room with the person she had fallen desperately in love with would be torture. But at the same time, she could not refuse this beautiful woman.

"Nah! They're not really the greatest place for a good chess game. I've got something else in mind." Sarah winked.

To say that Traynor was nervous was a mild understatement. Sarah was a lot more attractive than she was in her eyes, more beautiful and also had a much sexier body than hers, one that many would kill to have. She was so far out of her league. Then there was the fact that she was Shepard's sister. Everyone had heard of the legendary Sir Major Shepard. How many women out there in the galaxy had fantasized about being able to at least kiss him alone? Sarah being related to him only added to her being 'untouchable'. Of course, there was also the fact that she was worried that Sarah might be disgusted with her, either because she was probably straight and therefore revolted at the idea of sleeping with another woman, or that she might indeed like other women but think that Traynor was not worthy of her, beneath her. That would be even more unbearable.

Sarah could even get her brother to kick her off the ship. As much as Traynor considering it an honour to be stationed on the Normandy, the thought that she might never see Sarah scared her more than anything else. She felt shocked by this realization, but she did start to understand. She felt terrified at the idea of Sarah sending her away, so she did her best to herself, no matter how much Sarah's presence tempted her by the prospect of what she could never have.

* * *

"Commander, I don't think this is such a good idea. We could both get in trouble for this." Said Traynor nervously as Sarah began accessing the door controls to Austin and Liara's cabin.

"I know, that's what makes it more fun." Sarah giggled naughtily.

"Where did you get the access code to your brother's cabin anyway?" Traynor asked suspiciously.

"Samantha, my friend, what you don't know can't hurt you." Sarah winked.

The door opened and Sarah stepped inside. Samantha reluctantly followed.

"I've never been in here before. Kind of jealous he's got all this now. Perhaps I should ask nicely if I can get mine to look like this." Said Sarah admiringly.

"This is actually my second time in here. Earlier today, your bother invited me up. I asked if he was interested in a game, so we played." Said Traynor. She was doing the best acting she could to hide her nervousness and depression.

"Let me guess, he won?" Sarah asked.

"Actually, no. I did." Said Traynor, somewhat proud.

"You beat my brother? Wow! Now I'm really impressed." Said Sarah.

Traynor did her best not to blush. To have Sarah say something like that made this very difficult for there. Despite that Sarah might sound as though she liked her, she was most likely just being nice.

Trying to find something to tear her way from Sarah's beautiful eyes, she looked at another door up on the higher level just behind the ship collection.

"What do you thinks' in there?" she asked quickly.

"I think that's the bathroom." Said Sarah.

Samantha's interest suddenly peaked. Perhaps she had picked the right thing to change the subject on after all.

"Ah, an actual shower!"

She sighed in delight as opened the door and had a look inside.

"Why's that so special?" Sarah asked curiously.

"The faucets in the women's bathroom are crap. Didn't you know that?" Traynor replied.

"Well, I haven't tried them since the Normandy got refitted. They worked fine last time. Must be a fault." Sarah shrugged.

Traynor did her best to not create the mental image of Sarah I all her glory taking a shower. Watching the water cascade majestically down her smooth skin and beautiful body.

"In any event… shall we get on with our game?" Traynor asked quickly.

"I'm ready if you are." Sarah smiled confidently.

* * *

"Check mate." Sarah smiled smugly.

"What?!" Samantha cried. "How… how did you… I don't believe it! You actually beat me."

It was true. Somehow, Sarah had actually managed to succeed where her brother had failed.

"To be fair though, Sam, I did only just beat you. You made a tiny mistake a few moves back. If you hadn't, you'd have trampled me for sure. You're very good at this." Said Sarah.

"Thank you. I… that's very kind of you." Said Traynor, once again trying not to blush.

There was a bit of a long silence as the two tried to think of something else to say. Without any other options, Samantha simply resorted to the first thing that popped into her head.

"Erm, I remember a joke I told your brother earlier, you want to hear it?" she asked nervously.

"Sure." Sarah smiled.

"Okay. What's the difference between Commander Shepard and a Krogan?" Traynor asked, not realizing that she'd accidently said Commander rather than Major. If she'd known that she'd quite by accident that she'd instead told a joke about the woman she was madly in love with… "One is an unstoppable juggernaut of head-butting destruction…"

"…And the other thinks you might like a shower." Sarah finished.

"Sorry? Did you just say…"

"I can tell how excited you were about that and I could see the hopefulness in your eyes. You'd like to use it, wouldn't you?" Sarah winked.

"Nothing gets past you, does it, Commander." Samantha chuckled nervously. "Admittedly, yes. It would be nice to use a proper shower, I just hadn't realised that was an option."

"It's an option." Said Sarah.

"But suppose your brother comes in and…"

"He won't. Trust me, Sam." Said Sarah calmly. "And even if he does, I'll take full responsibility. I was the one who suggested we come up here after all."

"Well… I'll just, get undressed." Said Traynor.

"Don't mind me. Nothing I haven't seen before." Said Sarah, respectfully looking away out of respect for Traynor's privacy.

"You must've had quite a few men in your time." Said Samantha as she slowly unbuttoned her top.

Secretly, this was terrifying for her. What if Sarah didn't find her body attractive? What if it didn't appeal to her?

"And women too. I swing both ways." Said Sarah.

Samantha's heart nearly stopped at this. Had she just heard right? Sarah swung both ways?! She was attracted to women as well?!

This news nearly made Traynor faint with shock and delight. Something about this was now telling the comm specialist that perhaps all wasn't lost. Maybe there was hope for her yet.

"You do?!" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm bisexual. Didn't you know that?" said Sarah.

"No. I thought you were… well, I just didn't expect it." Samantha panted nervously, her heart pounding hard in her chest. She couldn't' believe what she was hearing. Her love was bisexual, there was a good possibility that Sarah might actually like her.

"That's not a problem is it?" Sarah asked cautiously. The way Traynor that Traynor had spoken earlier worried her that perhaps that fact about her made the comm specialist uncomfortable.

"Oh no, of course not! No! It's fine. It was just unexpected." Samantha replied quickly.

"Are you okay? You sound nervous." Sarah asked.

"Probably just the excitement." Samantha chuckled nervously. "Maybe I'll feel better once I've had this shower."

Samantha finished taking off all her clothes and now moved to her underwear. This terrified her even more. She was actually going naked in front of the women she'd fallen in love with. Once again, she was frightened that Sarah may once again not find her attractive.

Once Traynor's underwear was off, the comm specialist stepped in and turned the shower on. The feel of the hot water really did help to partly take her mind off of her thoughts of Sarah, who was sitting just outside and could possibly see her. Once again in her nervousness, she'd left the door open.

"Oooh… hot water and room to stretch. I could get lost in here." She moaned in delight as the water hit her body.

" _Leaving the door open? Really, Sam?"_ Sarah thought.

The N7 marine didn't show it, but secretly, he heat was beating very fast too. The women that she'd somehow developed a crush on was now standing in the shower, naked and with the door open. The temptation it was giving was almost impossible to resist.

Something about the warm water changed something in Traynor. She suddenly felt a bit more bolder and confident. Some thoughts came into her mind. Thoughts that she wouldn't normally have thought of.

"Mmm… Oh, it's like a week's with of stress is washing off. And the timing is perfect. I was hoping to look nice for somebody." She said.

Sarah suddenly felt her heart sink. Traynor had found someone? She'd met a man who might become a boyfriend?!

Sarah did her best to hide how disappointed she was and did her best to remain casual.

"Hot date lined up?" she asked, trying as best as she could to hide that her eyes were tearing up slightly.

"Hopefully more than just that. I play for keeps." Said Traynor.

"That… sounds serious." Said Sarah. She really did think that she'd burst into tears any minute. The one woman she'd grown to like more than anyone else and she was now taken.

"That depends on whether she's interested." Said Traynor.

Then it all clicked into place. All this time, Sarah had thought that Samantha had been talking about a man. But she hadn't, now Sarah realized who the comm specialist was referring to. Who else could it be, but…

" _Oh my god! It's me!"_ she thought.

Her mind started filling with over a thousand questions. How long had she felt this way? Was this why she'd been so nervous around her? Did this explain why she'd taken some time off? And the most important question of all… How should she approach this now?

Samantha had definitely had that question aimed right her. She was asking her and now whether Sarah was interested in her.

" _How do… actually, the hell with it."_ Sarah thought.

The N7 marine walked up the small stairs, up to the doorway, and shrugged everything off until she was as naked as the day she was born.

"She's interested."

And she walked in.  
Traynor jumped as she suddenly felt a presence behind her. She felt her breath catch in her chest. She couldn't believe this was actually happening to her. She turned around just in time for Sarah to cup the specialist's plump cheekbones as she kissed her at last.

Traynor froze for a second, eyes bulging alarmingly wide. Then… it was as if something clicked deep inside. Her breathing slowly calmed to a less dangerous level and the convulsions that wracked her body transformed into shivers of pleasure. Nothing in her entire life could compare to that moment. After all the anticipation, the kiss most definitely didn't disappoint. Sarah's heart melted instantly, as the feeling of Traynor's soft skin consumed her every sense. Closing her eyes, Sarah deepened the contact until the girl's nose brushed electrically across her cheek. Her arms auto-piloted their way to encircle the petrified specialist and pull her in deeper.

All notion of time disappeared from their minds. Everything revolved around the point of contact between them, and the delicious feeling of their lover's tongues against their own. Traynor finally closed her own eyes, and hungrily returned the favour, blissfully aware of every movement they made against each other. Sarah continued to soothe her, using her own lips to softly part the specialist's. Sarah's tongue slid from her mouth and began to slide across Traynor's teeth, seeking to penetrate the pearly white barrier. The young girl gasped involuntarily, allowing her eyelids to close as she too was swept up in the passionate moment. That was all the invitation Sarah needed to slip inside, delighting in the glorious feeling of tasting her lover for the very first time. Traynor began to respond, cautiously licking the tip of Sarah's tongue with her own. The electrically charged contact made the Commander actually whimper, encouraging the other girl to continue.

When they finally broke apart for air, they stared into each other's eyes before stepping back to admire the other's body for a while. Something about their connection made them find even the smallest detail to be impossibly beautiful. Despite the magical feeling she felt, after admiring the N7's body, Traynor still felt that Sarah was so far out of her league.

In Sarah's mind, she could hardly believe how amazing Traynor was. She couldn't help but marvel at how Traynor's richly tanned skin gave her such an exotic appeal. In her eyes, the lighting against her skin, combined with the glistening rivulets of water streaming down her body, Sarah could swear that Traynor's skin was practically glowing... almost like a young angel. Sarah just couldn't help how the sight made her feel, as she felt herself smile.

Samantha could have sworn she felt her very soul cry out in sheer joy when she saw Sarah's radiant smile. In that one moment, all her doubts washed away. It was true, Sarah had chosen her. HER! She felt as though her heart might explode from the emotions that were violently surging through it. Overcome with happiness, Samantha felt her body move of its own volition as she kissed Sarah once again.

At long last, flushed and panting, they separated. Samantha instantly missed the feeling of Sarah's skin on hers and felt her heart sing when the N7 pulled her into a firm hug. Sighing contentedly, she wrapped her arms around Sarah's hourglass torso and nuzzled into her offered neck. It occurred to her then how truly miraculous Sarah's power over her emotions was. She had felt so powerful when they were kissing, ecstatic in the fact that she could bring pleasure and happiness to the woman she loved, and now, cradled in that same woman's arms, she felt safe and secure; as if nothing in the universe could ever hurt or even touch her.

As the two held each other in their arms, they washed each other a bit. Sarah even washed Samantha's black hair with some soap while Traynor focused in the N7 marine's body.

The comm specialist still could not believe how beautiful Sarah's body was. Beautiful curves, an hourglass form, a nice behind, and some excellent breasts. Just looking at it made Traynor feel very aroused.

They continued simply standing in the shower and kissing one another for a long time before they finally decided to get out before they wasted all the water and EDI suddenly picked up on this.

As the two towelled and dried each other, they couldn't help but still kiss. Sarah intended to take Traynor back to her own quarters for their first time together, but when they left the shower and felt the cool air hit their nude bodies, cold air clashing with the overwhelming heat of arousal, she changed her mind. There was a bed right there...

Acting purely on instinct, the two once again launched into each others arms and slowly made for the bed. When they felt their legs touch the edge, they fell down onto the soft mattress.

Even the slightest touch made them burn up. After "massaging" each other's bodies in the shower for a while, their arousal had got the point where they could hardly even stand up.

The two continued holding each other in their arms and kissing. Finally, Sarah's lips started moving down Traynor's body. The Comm specialist moaned in delight at the feel of her lover's mouth caressing her body like this. It was like having the shower water once again trickling down her, but this time in a very specific place.

Sarah continued kissing lower and lower until finally she reached Traynor's breasts. Although they weren't quite as big as her own, Sarah found them to be an excellent size. Not too small, nice and perky and no hint of sag. For her, they were perfect, and Samantha's beautifully smooth skin only added to it.

Samantha continued moaning and stroked Sarah's red hair as the Commander took one of her nipples into her mouth and caressed it perfectly with her tongue. It had done wonders to her mouth, now it was doing it again.

This continued for a long time until Traynor flipped them over and she was on top. She then gently started grinding against Sarah. This elected moans from the both of them as Samantha gently thrust her hips into her lover's.

"Would've thought... we'd used… toys… by now. Sarah moaned in-between thrusts.

"They'd just spoil this golden moment. Besides, I don't have any. I'm not that kind of woman." Traynor panted.

"Nor am I." Sarah smiled as she once again kissed Traynor.

The mere touch of Sarah's lips on hers again nearly made Traynor faint. It was almost as though this woman knew exactly how to pleasure her, how to make this absolutely perfect for the both of them.

"Sam, I never thought I'd say this to anyone, but you definitely put every other girl to shame." Said Sarah.

"Stop it. You don't really mean that, you're just trying to make me blush." Traynor smiled, her cheeks turning a bit red.

Sarah however became serious. "No, I meant that. You mean more to me than anyone and anything."

A few tiny tears of happiness leaked from the specialist's oriental eyes, disappearing into her tamed locks. The two hugged each other for a while until Samantha felt she'd calmed down enough to become adventurous again.

Sarah caught on quickly and once again flipped them over so that she was on top. This time though, she turned around until they were in the 69 position.

"One of my favourites." Sarah smiled. You don't mind?"

"Not at all." Samantha smiled.

Sarah lowered herself down until her lips touched Traynor's pussy. The comm specialist was quick to return the favour.

She tasted divine. Traynor suddenly lapped at her wet folds as if her life depended on it. She couldn't compare Sarah's taste to anything, it was so much better than any food or drink. She was her drug and she was addicted to her. Sarah's moans only encouraged Samantha to drink from her oasis of tasty honey with more and more urgency.

They continued making love to one another for many hours, so much so in fact it felt like they'd been doing this for one whole day. Not that that was a bad thing course. One whole day of pleasure was something anyone would love.

Feeling both their imminent releases as they sixty-nined each other, they came together. Sarah herself nearly passed out form that, something she'd never felt or done before. This whole night with her new love had been absolutely amazing.

Sarah lay on her back for a moment. She then suddenly noticed that Traynor **had** actually blacked out from her last climax. Smiling tenderly, Sarah closed her eyes, basking, and slightly squirming, in the afterglow of the most incredible sex of her life. She had never felt such pleasure, such amazing sensations before. It was almost an unbelievable, almost spiritual experience. Glancing at her passed out lover, she then smiled once again in absolute bliss. Traynor looked even more beautiful when asleep. Seeing such peaceful serenity and delightful content on her face brought unexpected elated warmth to Sarah's heart, until the point where she was almost certain she was hovering several centimetres above the bed. Snuggling closer to Traynor's warm body, Sarah ran her hand across her lover's unbelievably smooth skin, marvelling at the soothing sensation against her fingertips. She could spend hours just staring at the gorgeously tanned skin, admiring how perfect the specialist's body looked in the ethereal glow of the cabin. Leaning closely, she delicately caressed Traynor's lips with the sweetest kiss she had given her yet.

The specialist's lips were so beautifully soft and tender against her own and it made Sarah want to cry. It felt like she had waited so long to kiss her even though it had only been a few minutes in real time. Slowly, Traynor began to stir and moan under the loving ministrations. As before, something clicked inside her, and her arms instinctively wrapped themselves around Sarah's slender neck as she eagerly returned the kiss. Several more minutes were lost as the tender kiss enraptured both women and submersed them in the feelings they shared for each other.

When they finally stopped to catch their breath, Sarah lay down with Traynor resting her head on Sarah's breasts. This was something the both of them loved doing. There was always something always so loving and tender about it.

"I can't tell you how much I needed that." Traynor sighed.

"Are you using me for my brother's shower?" Sarah chuckled.

"Not anymore. You're all I need, Sarah. I… I love you. I can't deny that anymore." Said Samantha.

"I love you to, Samantha. Ever since I first saw you, I knew you were the one." Sarah smiled, once again kissing her true love. "We'd better get dressed. If my brother finds us like this, god knows what he'll say."

"Does he know that you're bisexual?" Samantha asked as they began pulling their underwear and clothes on. Due to both their releases, they were still a bit wobbly on their legs.

"Yes, he does. Although I don't know how he'd react to finding out that his own sister is sleeping with the new girl." Sarah replied.

"We've made love but we haven't got to that stage yet." Samantha winked.

"Why don't we go down to my quarters then. It's comfortable enough for that sort of thing." Sarah suggested.

"Thank you. You've no idea how happy you've made me." Traynor sighed happily.

"You've no idea how happy you've made **me.** " Sarah smiled.

"Why don't you show me then?"

"Well I'll say this at least. I've made my mind up… I'm definitely staying."

At this, Traynor practically threw herself into Sarah's arms and hugged her tightly. The two couldn't help but grin at this.

Just as the door opened, they found none other than Austin walking in. To their surprise though, he walked right past them and simply nodded.

"Sarah. Traynor." He said.

"Hi." Sarah replied nervously.

Without even waiting for a reply, both she and Traynor bolted for the elevator and immediately pressed the button for the crew deck. It was just as the doors closed that Austin suddenly stopped dead in his tracks

"What?" he slowly turned around confusedly. "Sarah and Traynor… just came out of my cabin. How did… what were they…"

The Helldiver looked around. Nothing out of the ordinary, although the bed sheets looked a bit strange. Something suddenly clicked in Austin's mind. Had they…

"EDI, what were Sarah and Traynor doing in my cabin?" he asked.

" _Your sister used the access code to unlock the door to your quarters. She then entered with Operative Traynor_." Said EDI.

Austin was certainly confused. What had they been doing?

"What happened exactly?" Austin asked, worried that he knew what the answer would be.

" _First, they played a game of chess like you did with Operative Traynor earlier this morning. Afterwards, they began to engage in extracurricular activities that prompted me to engage privacy mode on the security cameras."_ The AI replied.

Austin's eyes widened in shock. Traynor… and his sister?! Normally someone would be hugely protective of a sister like this. Austin however wasn't that sort of person. He knew Sarah was just as grown up as he was and she was allowed to make her own decisions. Still, one question was on his mind.

"Did any of them say the L word?" he asked.

" _Yes."_ EDI replied.

Austin simply smiled and shook his head.

"Sarah, you minx." He chuckled.

* * *

Things had gotten so quiet now without anything to do. For now, the Normandy was just drifting in space until Austin thought up something or they got a call for another mission.

Sarah was currently taking some time off to make a requisition order to have her quarters refitted. Having seen how fancy her brother's were, she suddenly found herself wanting something similar. That, and she wanted to impress her new girlfriend.

At that moment, there was a knock on her door.

"Come in." she said.

The door opened and Austin stepped in. Sarah felt her heartbeat pick up a bit suddenly. Did he know? Was that why he was here?

"Ah, brother. What brings you here?" she asked.

"We need to talk, Sarah. I know about you and Traynor." Said Austin, quickly cutting to the chase.

Sarah's heart started beating even faster now. She feared this would not end well.

"You found out about that, huh?" Sarah sighed. "Look, I know how this may seem to you, but I promise you it is more than that. I love Traynor and she loves me. We said that to each other. You have no idea how much that girl has been suffering without me."

Austin was silent for a minute before he finally spoke.

"I'm happy for you two."

"This may be your ship, that doesn't mean you… what? Did you just say you're happy for us?" Sarah asked in disbelief.

"Traynor's a sweet girl. I'll admit it was unexpected that you found piece in the arms of a women. I know mum and dad are certainly gonna be surprised, but they won't be disgusted. It won't matter to them, and it doesn't matter to me that she a girl." Said Austin.

"You're serious? You're okay with… this?" Sarah asked.

"We're both grown ups, Sarah. I think we're allowed to make our own decisions. Besides, I'm now married to Liara and we started off just like you did. Who am I to judge?" Austin smiled.

Sarah was almost left lost for words at what her brother was saying. He approved of her relationship with Traynor. The N7 marine walked up to Austin and they hugged each other.

"You're best brother I could wish for." She said.

"I'm the only brother you've got, sis." Austin chuckled.

"I know, but I've always wanted to say that." Said Sarah.

"I am going to talk with Traynor though." Austin advised.

"Just be gentle with her though. She's a lot more timid and shy than me." Said Sarah. "Oh and I've finally made up my mind, I'm gonna stay."

"Glad to hear it, Sarah." Austin smiled.

* * *

Ever since she and Sarah had got together, Traynor had been in a much better mood. Her performance at work had improved greatly as well. No longer being distracted by her undying love for Sarah and having it eating away at her from the inside had allowed to her to focus properly on her work again.

As she continued typing away at her console, Austin exited the elevator and cleared his throat so that she would her him.

"Major, what can I do you?" she asked happily as she saluted.

"You seem in a very good mood, Traynor." Austin inquired.

"I guess life's been very good to me." Said Traynor.

"So I've heard. You and my sister make a good couple." Said Austin.

Traynor feared she might have a heart attack after hearing that. This was it. Her career board the Normandy was over. She'd never see Sarah again. How could she have been so stupid?!

"I guess I'll get my stuff then. Shouldn't take too long since I've barely got anything but a toothbrush." She said, doing her best to hide the tear forming in her eye.

"What are you talking about, Traynor?" Austin asked.

"You're kicking me off the ship aren't you?" Traynor sighed.

"What?! No! Of course I'm not. You love my sister don't you?!" said Austin.

"I do, but… I thought you'd be mad about it." Said Traynor.

"Traynor, listen to me. Sarah is my sister and she loves you deeply. I just talked with her and told her that I have no problem with the two of you. Besides, I'm married to Liara and we started off just like this. I'd be a pretty cold husband if I stopped my sister from seeing her first real girlfriend." Said Austin, putting his hand reassuringly on Traynor's shoulder. "What matters is that you two love each other and get along well."

Traynor's tears of sorrow suddenly turned to tears of joy as soon as she heard that. She almost felt as though this was a dream and that she'd wake up. Sarah's brother, THE Sir Major Austin Shepard, actually approved and was blessing their relationship.

"You're serious? You're okay with your sister, your own sister, being with… someone like me?" she asked.

"Why wouldn't I? I think I speak the truth when I say that you and Sarah are made for each other." Said Austin. He then had a little idea. "In fact, I know a good way to prove it. Take the rest of the day off and spend it with Sarah. That's an order."

Traynor was once again left lost for words. She couldn't believe this was happening.

"I… thank you, Major. I don't know what to say."

Austin simply smiled and nodded as the comm specialist left the CIC and headed for the elevator. As the doors closed, Austin suddenly heard his private terminal bleep with a message. He was surprised when he saw the message.

"Joker, plot a course for Alchera. Seems we have one more goodbye to say to a very old friend."

* * *

Sarah turned to her cabin doors as they suddenly opened and they revealed the person she'd just been thinking about.

"You look happy, Sam. What's going on."

Traynor didn't say anything and simply unbuttoned her top until she was only in her black bra.

"You just talked with Austin didn't you?" Sarah smiled.

"He just gave me orders to take the rest of the day off and spend it with you." Traynor winked as she worked on sliding her trousers off until she was only her underwear. "As he is the commanding officer, I must follow his orders."

"How can I resist then?" said Sarah a she pulled Traynor into her arms and kissed her as she too worked on taking her clothes off until she was also just in nothing but her red underwear.

"You wanna sleep here tonight?" she asked.

Traynor simply responded with a kiss and the two feel onto the bed. They kissed a for a while before finally breaking for air.

"Aren't you going to let me take your underwear off?" Traynor asked.

"Not if we're just sleeping together tonight." Sarah replied.

"You sleep in your underwear?" Traynor asked in amazement.

"Yeah." Sarah replied, her voice suddenly turning to surprise when she realized why Traynor was amazed that. "Wait, you do too?!"

"I do." Traynor smiled.

"I love you so much." Sarah sighed.

"I love you too." Traynor replied.

Just as the two were about to kiss, Sarah quickly stopped them.

"One last thing: I want you to move in with me." She said.

"Of course… Princess."

* * *

 

 

The dropship touched down and Austin, Liara, Garrus and Tali stepped out. All around them, they could see the wreckage of none other than the Normandy SR1. They were on Alchera; the same planet where the Collectors had attacked them two years ago and Austin had ended up in a coma.

The message he'd received not too long ago had been about where the wreckage of the Normandy was and it had been forwarded him in case he'd wanted to pay some respects to those who had also died when the Collectors attacked. Not to mention that it had been his ship.

The four of them split into two with Garrus and Tali heading of in one group and Austin and Liara heading off in the other.

"It's a shame that Ashley and Wrex aren't here." Said Austin.

"I agree." Liara nodded.

The two groups simply walked around in silence. Despite that they had learned to move on from this and overcome the sorrow, seeing all of this, a ship they had once thought could never be spoilt or destroyed, in pieces, and close to buried, was rather saddening. Austin had also been asked by the Alliance to see if it were possible to collect all the dog tags of the Alliance crew who had died during the Collector attack. Liara obviously had recovered Austin's a long time ago, so it was just the crew now.

Garrus and Tali had also been told about this, so they too were keeping an eye open for any silvery objects glinting on the ground.

As Austin and Liara continued walking around together, gathering up what tags they could find, they came across several familiar parts of the SR3. The crew deck (which easily reminded the both of them of Kaiden) the ruined remains of the CIC (reminding them of Navigator Presley) the ruined Mako (a vehicle they remembered had taken them through some very rough times) and above all, what remained of Austin old quarters. The place where they had first become bond mates and had their first Union. The both of them would never forget that night.

After many hours of combing the entire place and finding all the dog tags, it was time for the final part. Placing a memorial. Picking a spot was easy since there was a large piece of the hull that said SR1. Everyone agreed that would be the best place to place the large golden memorial that had been built for this occasion.

"Anyone like to say anything?" Austin asked as the four of them stood back.

"I'll never forget the many things I learned from the SR1." Said Tali. "I made many new friends, learned so much knowledge, not just on engines, found a perfect gift to help me complete my pilgrimage, and met a brilliant captain."

"Back when I was a C-sec officer, I didn't think I'd ever serve on a human ship. In fact, if I hadn't, perhaps I never would've been a Helldiver and I wouldn't be here today." Said Garrus. "I'll always remember the SR1 as the ship that changed my life for the better."

Austin and Liara didn't really have anything more to say, so they remained silent. After about a minute, Tali could see that the married couple could do with a quick minute to themselves.

"We'll wait for you in the shuttle. Give you two a moment." Said the Quarian.

Garrus and Tali headed back to the dropship, leaving just Austin and Liara stood hand in hand in front of the memorial.

"Reminds me of a little saying." Said Austin.

"What's that?" Liara asked.

"A good captain goes down with his ship." Said Austin.

"You're more than just a good captain, Austin. You're a leader, and eventually you'll have to be more than that. I know it may sound a bit much, but when the time comes, the galaxy will depend on you." Said Liara. "I fear we'll never truly know why or how your suit brought you back, but I think that maybe it sensed it wasn't your time yet. It knew there was more to you. You had…"

"A destiny." Austin finished.

Liara could sense her bond mate's feelings and held his hand.

"Whatever happens out there, whatever the future may hold for this, I will be at your side no matter what." She said.

"I make that promise too, Liara." Austin smiled.

The Helldiver then reached into one of the punches on his combat belt and took out his Alliance dog tags.

"One more thing I need to do." He said.

He walked up to the memorial, unclasped the tag's chain, wrapped it around the memorial and relapsed it. The dog tags now hung there as he stood back.

Liara would normally have asked why Austin had done that, but being his bond mate and wife, she understood.

"You're sure you want to leave them here?" she asked.

"I'm sure. You know as well as I do that although I survived, there was a small part of me that never did come back." Said Austin. "I'm a Helldiver. I always have been, and I always will be. The part of me that was an Alliance soldier died a long time ago. In reality, I stopped being one when I first put on this armour. It only stayed because the Alliance was reluctant to let me go."

"A bit like me." Said Liara.

"True. But you did it for love. That's more powerful than anything." Said Austin.

 

The two simply stood in silence for a moment as they looked at Austin's dog tags still moving very slightly.

"I love you, Sir Major Austin Shepard."

"I love you too, Liara T'soni Shepard."

Words ceased as they simply hugged one before walking back to the dropship hand in hand. Whatever the future would eventually throw at them and while they had many challenges ahead of them, they would face it together.

Legion stood before a shadowy figure. This figure was without a doubt a Geth; in fact it was the current Geth leader. With all of the heretics now rewritten, Legion had worked hard to help its people prepare for an imminent war with the Reapers. The Old Machines could offer all they liked, but they would build their own future.

* * *

Currently, Legion was reporting to the Geth what it had learned about the Helldivers. For a long time the Geth had been watching these super soldiers, unsure whether to consider them a threat or not.

"The Helldivers are most definitely formidable. It logically makes sense why the old machines perceive them as a threat. It would be advisable to work with them rather than against them." Said Legion.

The Geth in the shadows uttered a Geth language unrecognizable to organics.

"To challenge them, is to court death." Said Legion.

The Geth Prime that Legion had been speaking too turned to face it. All that could be visible of it was it burning red eye, flaps, and two long horns…

To be Continued…

Coming soon… Mass Effect 3, The Helldiver Saga, The Last Cycle...

* * *

**Hard to believe I've finally finished this one.**

**Once again, a huge thank you to all my fans and other guests who have written such positive reviews and also some very helpful constructive criticism.**

**I guess all I can say is... see you soon in ME3. I have actually got the chapter all written out now, I'm just going over it and checking just to make sure I'm happy with it.**

**Farewell my friends, it has been an honour. Don't worry though. "I'll be back!"**

**:) Give 'em hell!**


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